Regional manufacturing activity slows in August
The summer doldrums hit regional manufacturers in August as factory activity slowed slightly, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said in a report Thursday.
The Fed’s regional manufacturing index, which measures business in a seven-state area that includes Kansas and the western third of Missouri, registered at 3 in August. That was down from 9 in July and 6 in June, the Kansas City Fed said.
Still, August marked the eighth consecutive month of manufacturing expansion in the region, and corporate expectations for future growth remain positive.
“Plant managers remain generally optimistic,” Chad Wilkerson, a vice president and economist at the Kansas City Fed, said in the report.
The manufacturing index measures production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time and raw materials inventory.
Besides Kansas and part of Missouri, the Fed’s 10th District covers Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma and part of New Mexico.
To reach Steve Rosen, call 816-234-4879 or send email to srosen@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Regional manufacturing activity slows in August."