Philly Fed Manufacturing Survey Remains Deeply Depressed, in Contraction for Seventh Straight Months
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/03/16/philly-fed-manufacturing-survey-remains-deeply-depressed-in-contraction-for-seventh-straight-months/Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area declined again in March, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said on Thursday.
The Philly Fed said that its index for current general activity rose one point to a minus 23.2, the seventh consecutive negative reading. While that is an improvement from the minus reading of 24.3 in February, any reading below zero indicates a contraction in activity from the previous month.
Economists had forecast the index to come in at minus 15.8, so the reading is worse than expected.
Both the index of new orders, a critical metric of demand for manufactured goods in the region, and the index measuring shipments have declined to their lowest readings since May 2020, when much of the economy was locked down in the initial wave of the pandemic. The index of new orders fell 15 points to minus 28.2. Only 35 percent of the firms reported declines in new orders, unchanged since last month, seven percent reported increases, and 58 percent reported no change.
Manufacturing has been declining for 7 months straight. Very unsettling.