Research >> Economics
Texas Manufacturing Activity Shows Hopeful Signs of Bottoming
Texas factory activity showed the first signs of bottoming out in September, according to the business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key indicator of current manufacturing activity, came in close to zero as the number of companies seeing increases and decreases was nearly equal.
Most indexes of current activity improved, continuing a trend that began in spring. The shipments index turned positive for the first time in 14 months. The new orders index also moved into positive territory, indicating that manufacturers are seeing growing demand. Indexes for capacity utilization and growth rate of orders improved but remained slightly negative.
The business activity and company outlook indexes also saw further improvement in September, largely because fewer companies are seeing deteriorating conditions. Both remain negative, however.
Posted: September 28, 2009 Monday 10:30 PM