Fed survey: State’s manufacturing conditions at 4-year high

New York manufacturers in July have seen overall business conditions improve for the third consecutive month, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York”™s latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

Despite those gains, manufacturers this month are less optimistic about future conditions in their businesses than they were in June, the survey found.

Federal Reserve analysts said the state”™s general business conditions index reached a four-year high in July. Of manufacturers responding to the survey, 41 percent reported improved conditions from June to July, while 15 percent said business conditions had worsened.

Both the Federal Reserve index for new orders and its shipment index this month were at their highest levels since early 2010, analysts said. The new orders index was unchanged from June.

Analysts said a monthly drop in the unfilled orders index suggested that fewer orders remained unfilled, while inventory levels saw a small decline.

Analysts said rises in indexes for price paid and received by manufacturers indicated that the pace of price increases accelerated in July. Labor market conditions in the industry continued to improve, with employment levels showing a “solid increase,” according to the survey. The average employee workweek showed a slight increase in hours worked.

“Despite the steep gains in many of the survey”™s indexes for current conditions, optimism about future conditions, while still fairly strong, diminished,” the Federal Reserve reported. Looking ahead, manufacturers were least optimistic about general business conditions, new orders and shipments, according to the survey, while expecting an increase in technology spending.