Central U.S. Manufacturing Shrinks Further — Kansas City Fed

By Ed Frankl

Manufacturing activity in the central U.S. contracted further this month, as a manufacturing slowdown persists.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said Thursday that the Tenth District manufacturing survey's composite index was minus 8 in September, from minus 3 last month. Any reading below zero suggests activity contracted compared with the previous month. A consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected minus 5.

The decline was driven by durable-goods manufacturing, the survey said. Indexes for shipments and new orders also fell somewhat, while production declined, backlogs decreased substantially, and employment indicators ticked down.

However, expectations for future activity stayed positive, according to the Kansas City Fed.

"Regional factory activity fell moderately this month," said Chad Wilkerson senior vice president at the Kansas City Fed.

The year-on-year composite index reached its lowest level since September 2020, as production and new orders decreased substantially, he noted.

"We continue to believe that domestic industrial manufacturing is, and has been, in a recession for quite some time," said one respondent to the survey. "It appears to be hitting harder than it has as shown by lower orders and fewer opportunities. Foreign dumping of product continues to be unfair and rampant."

The Kansas City Fed survey measures manufacturing activity in the western third of Missouri, all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming, and the northern half of New Mexico.

Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 26, 2024 11:37 ET (15:37 GMT)

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