U.S. Manufacturing: A Strong Improvement
Doug Short | May 26, 2015 11:13AM ET
Today the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Composite Index squeaked back above the flatline with a 4 point increase to 1 from last month's -3. available here ), which dates from November 1993. Here is a snapshot of the complete Richmond Fed Manufacturing Composite series.
Here is the latest Richmond Fed manufacturing overview.
Manufacturing activity flattened in May, according to the most recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Shipments and the volume of new orders leveled off, while the backlog of orders declined further compared to last month. Hiring edged up, while the average workweek increased slightly. However, average wage growth accelerated this month.
Despite the soft conditions this month, manufacturers continued to look for improved business conditions in the next six months. Expectations were for solid growth in shipments and in the volume of new orders in the six months ahead. In addition, survey participants looked for increased capacity utilization and expected order backlogs to grow more quickly. However, producers looked for little change in vendor lead times.
Manufacturers' outlook for the months ahead included faster growth in the number of employees and average wages than in the current month. In addition, they expected modest growth in the length of the average workweek.
Here is a somewhat closer look at the index since the turn of the century.
Is today's Richmond composite a clue of what to expect in the next PMI composite? We'll find out when the next is released on June 1st.
Because of the high volatility of this series, we should take the data for any individual month with the proverbial grain of salt.
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