Written by Steven Hansen
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey index fell off a cliff and is now deep in contraction. Overall this survey is below values seen in the last 2+ years.
Analyst Opinion of Empire State Manufacturing Survey
This is a report so bad that you have to wonder whether the U.S. is in a recession.
Econintersect reminds you that this is a survey (a quantification of opinion). Please see caveats at the end of this post. However, sometimes it is better not to look too deeply into the details of a noisy survey as just the overview is all you need to know
- Expectations from Econoday were between 7.0 to 15.0 (consensus 10.0) versus the -8.6 reported. Any value above zero shows expansion for the New York area manufacturers.
- New orders sub-index of the Empire State Manufacturing significantly declined and is now in contraction, whilst the unfilled orders likewise significantly declined and returned to contraction.
- This noisy index has moved from 25.0 (June 2018), 22.6 (July), 25.6 (August), 19.0 (September), 21.1 (October), 23.2 (November), 10.9 (December), 3.9 (January 2019), 8.8 (February), 3.7 (March), 10.1 (April), 17.8 (May) – and now -8.6
From the report:
Business activity took a sharp turn downward in New York State, according to firms responding to the June 2019 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index plummeted twenty-six points, its largest monthly decline on record, to -8.6. New orders receded, while shipments increased modestly. Unfilled orders fell, and delivery times and inventories moved slightly lower. Labor market indicators pointed to small declines in employment and hours worked. The pace of input price increases was little changed, while selling price increases slowed. Indexes assessing the six-month outlook indicated that firms were less optimistic about future conditions than they were last month.
Growth Abruptly Reverses
Manufacturing firms in New York State reported that business activity declined. The general business conditions index fell by a record twenty-six points to -8.6, the first negative reading for the index in more than two years. Twenty-two percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 30 percent reported that conditions had worsened. The new orders index also posted a significant decline, falling twenty-two points to -12.0, indicating a decline in orders. The shipments index fell seven points to 9.7, pointing to a modest increase in shipments. Unfilled orders declined, delivery times were somewhat shorter, and inventories moved slightly lower.
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The above graphic shows that when the index is in negative territory that it is not a signal of a recession – of 10 times in negative territory (since the Great Recession) – no recession occurred. Conversely, a positive number is likely to be indicating economic expansion. Historically, when it does make a correct negative prediction it can be timely – this index was only two months late in going negative after what was eventually determined to be the start of the 2007 recession.
This survey has a lot of extra bells and whistles which take attention away from the core questions: (1) are orders and (2) are unfilled orders (backlog) improving? – and the answer is that the key internals are in contraction.
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Unfilled order contraction can be a signal for a recession.
Summary of all Federal Reserve Districts Manufacturing:
Richmond Fed (hyperlink to reports):
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Kansas Fed (hyperlink to reports):
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Dallas Fed (hyperlink to reports):
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Philly Fed (hyperlink to reports):
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New York Fed (hyperlink to reports):
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Federal Reserve Industrial Production – Actual Data (hyperlink to report):
Holding this and other survey’s Econintersect follows accountable for their predictions, the following graph compares the hard data from Industrial Products manufacturing subindex (dark blue bar) and US Census manufacturing shipments (lighter blue bar) to the Dallas Fed survey (light blue bar).
In the above graphic, hard data is the long bars, and surveys are the short bars. The arrows on the left side are the key to growth or contraction.
Caveats on the use of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey:
This is a survey, a quantification of opinion – not facts and data. Surveys lead hard data by weeks to months and can provide early insight into changing conditions. Econintersect finds they do not necessarily end up being consistent compared to hard economic data that comes later, and can miss economic turning points.
According to Econoday:
The New York Fed conducts this monthly survey of manufacturers in New York State. Participants from across the state represent a variety of industries. On the first of each month, the same pool of roughly 175 manufacturing executives (usually the CEO or the president) is sent a questionnaire to report the change in an assortment of indicators from the previous month. Respondents also give their views about the likely direction of these same indicators six months ahead.
This Empire State Survey is very noisy – and has shown recessionary conditions throughout the second half of 2011 – and no recession resulted. Overall, since the end of the 2007 recession – this index has indicated two false recession warnings.
No survey is accurate in projecting employment – and the Empire State Manufacturing Survey is no exception. Although there is some general correlation in trends, month-to-month movements have not correlated with the BLS Service Sector Employment data.
Over time, there is a general correlation with real manufacturing data – but month-to-month conflicts are frequent.
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