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Economy in Brief
Japan Shows Very Moderate Growth As Trade War Clouds Gather
Japan’s sector indexes showed a solid gain in February...
U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Rose in April
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 128.7 in April from 127.0 (initially reported as 127.7) in March...
U.S. New Home Sales and Prices Strengthen
Sales of new single-family homes during March increased 4.0% (8.8% y/y) to 694,000 (SAAR)...
U.S. FHFA House Price Index Continues to Strengthen
The FHFA index of U.S. house prices rose 0.6% during February...
U.S. Energy Prices Rise Further
Retail gasoline prices increased to $2.80 per gallon last week (14.3% y/y)...
by Tom Moeller March 29, 2016
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas indicated that industrial activity in the state continued to deteriorate this month, but the rate of decline lessened. The measure of general business activity of -13.6 was the smallest negative reading since November. The figure gained m/m as production & shipments turned positive. Declines in new orders, employment and wages & benefits growth eased. The rate of decline in finished goods prices slowed.
Expectations for business activity in six months also improved. The expected business activity reading turned positive, although the expected readings for shipments and production deteriorated. On the labor front, expectations for employment deteriorated, but wages & benefits improved. Worker-hours backpedaled to a three year low.
Each index is calculated by subtracting the percentage reporting a decrease from the percentage reporting an increase. When all firms report that activity has increased, an index will register 100. An index will register -100 when all firms report a decrease. An index will be zero when the number of firms reporting an increase or decrease is equal. Items may not add up to 100% because of rounding. Data for the Texas Manufacturing Outlook can be found in Haver's SURVEYS database.
Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey (SA, % Balance) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar'15 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current General Business Activity Index | -13.6 | -31.8 | -34.6 | -17.7 | -12.5 | 8.3 | 2.2 |
Production | 3.3 | -8.5 | -10.2 | -5.4 | -1.0 | 14.5 | 9.8 |
Growth Rate of Orders | -11.7 | -17.4 | -17.5 | -15.4 | -11.8 | 4.7 | 0.1 |
Number of Employees | -10.3 | -11.1 | -4.2 | -3.2 | -0.4 | 11.5 | 5.6 |
Prices Received for Finished Goods | -8.2 | -12.5 | -9.6 | -9.9 | -8.5 | 8.3 | 2.9 |
General Business Activity Index Expected in Six Months | 6.1 | -2.1 | -24.0 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 17.4 | 11.0 |
Production | 31.8 | 33.4 | 26.5 | 36.2 | 31.1 | 42.7 | 37.1 |
Growth Rate of New Orders | 17.4 | 18.7 | 16.8 | 12.9 | 20.7 | 31.5 | 25.0 |
Wages & Benefits | 34.7 | 34.5 | 28.5 | 34.2 | 33.2 | 43.1 | 38.2 |