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Texas Manufacturing Activity Declines Deepen
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Texas factory activity deteriorated further in December, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. Nearly all indexes of current activity remained negative, and several dropped to record lows. The six-month outlook remained uncertain and weak, and a majority of respondents noted a decline in planned capital expenditures for 2009.
Coincident with the faltering national economy, the index for level of business activity remained negative, and more than 60 percent of the respondents reported worsening conditions. The company outlook index dropped to its lowest level since the survey’s inception in June 2004.
Indexes for production, growth rate of orders and volume of shipments retreated further into negative territory, reflecting sluggish demand. The volume of new orders and capacity utilization indexes fell precipitously as the number of respondents reporting declines in these measures exceeded those reporting increases by more than five-to-one.
Posted: December 29, 2008 Monday 10:31 AM