FYI: The Richmond Fed released their manufacturing index for October this morning. The report indicated the region’s manufacturing sector is still expanding but at a more modest pace. The composite index badly missed forecasts. A decline to 24 from 29 in September was expected, but the actual reading was far lower to a mere 15. Steep declines in shipments, new orders, and local business conditions were major contributors to this lower reading. While still positive, shipments fell sharply from 33 in September all the way down to 7 for October. New orders were stronger at 20, but still down from 34 last month. This was the second largest decline behind shipments. The overall breadth of this report left much to be desired as employment was the only index that rose. While there were more workers employed, the quality most likely did not match. Skilled workers available fell to its lowest level in the history of the data. The indices for wages and average workweek also both fell. Prices continued to grow with prices paid moving at a much more accelerated pace than prices received. Prices paid grew at its highest rate since May 2011.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/richmond-fed-manufacturing-falls/
