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Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity grew modestly in January
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Tenth District manufacturing activity continued to grow modestly in January, and expectations for future growth remained solid. The month-over-month finished goods price index rose, while the raw materials price index edged lower. Price expectations for the next six months held steady.
Factories Report Slightly Positive Growth in January
The month-over-month composite index was 5 in January, similar to 6 in December, and lower than 17 in November. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. The slow and steady increase in factory activity was driven by durable goods producers, particularly wood products, fabricated metals, electrical equipment and appliances, and furniture manufacturing. Month-over-month indexes were somewhat mixed. The production index jumped back into positive territory, while the order backlog index turned negative for the first time since June 2017. Most year-over-year factory indexes eased from the previous month, and the composite index decreased from 38 to 31. Future factory activity expectations remained solid. The future composite index eased slightly from 22 to 18, while the future production index increased.
Posted: January 24, 2019 Thursday 11:00 AM