New York manufacturing growth barely budged in December, according to a new report (link opens as PDF) released today by the New York Federal Reserve.
Comprised of surveys from around 100 New York executives, The Empire State Manufacturing Survey attempts to determine whether certain components of manufacturing have experienced growth (positive number), or contraction (negative number). Investors watch New York manufacturing (and manufacturing in other regions, as well) as a possible signal of larger economic upswings or downturns.
For December, the survey's general business conditions index clocked in at 0.98 points, up from November's -2.21 reading but a far cry from analysts' predictions of 4.50.
Source: New York Federal Reserve.
Digging deeper, the all-important new orders component remained in the red at -3.5 (from -5.5 in November). Unfilled orders fell seven points to -24.1 while the inventories index plummeted 20 points to 21.7, the lowest point for both metrics since 2009.
While manufacturers' six-month outlook has generally been much brighter than present-day conditions, December's report of future expectations looks less optimistic than previously indicated. The overall index fell 2 points to 35.7, while new orders fell a whopping 14 points to 26.4.
