From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Improved Considerably
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the December Manufacturing Survey today. According to Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the survey revealed that Tenth District manufacturing activity improved considerably to its highest growth rate in over two years.
“This was the highest composite reading in our survey since May 2014,” said Wilkerson. “This is now four straight months of factory expansion in our region, following a difficult time for many plants in 2015 and much of 2016.”
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The month-over-month composite index was 11 in December, up from 1 in November and 6 in October. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. Activity in nondurable goods plants increased markedly, particularly for food and plastics, while durable goods plants expanded at a slower pace. Most month-over-month indexes improved in December. The production index jumped from 9 to 24, and the shipments, new orders, and order backlog indexes also rose. The employment index increased from 1 to 10, its highest level since May 2014. …
emphasis added
The Kansas City region was hit hard by the decline in oil prices, but activity is expanding again.