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Kansas City Fed Manufacturing activity continued to strengthen
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Tenth District manufacturing activity continued to strengthen in February. Production increased further, and producers’ expectations for future activity, including for hiring, were positive overall. Raw materials price indexes remained elevated, but finished goods prices were generally unchanged, although a rising share of firms plan to raise finished good prices in the future.
The net percentage of firms reporting month-over-month increases in production in February was 19, up from 13 in January and 7 in December. Production growth increased at durable goods plants, but slowed slightly among non-durable goods producers, particularly for food, printing, and plastics and rubber producers. The other month-over-month indicators were mixed in February. The shipments and new orders indexes each climbed, but the order backlog index fell slightly. The employment index slipped back into negative territory after being positive in January. Also, the new orders for exports index fell from 6 in January to 0 in February. The raw materials inventory index continued to increase, reaching an 18 month high, while the finished goods inventory index remained 0.
Posted: February 25, 2010 Thursday 11:00 AM