EmailEconomic
Last Update: 18-Apr-13 10:19 ET
Philadelphia Fed
Highlights
- Manufacturing activities in the Philadelphia region slowed, but remained in an expansion in April. The Philly Fed's Business Outlook Survey dropped from 2.0 in March to 1.3. The Briefing.com consensus expected the index to increase to 3.0.
Key Factors
- Production growth accelerated even as order levels deteriorated. The Shipping Index jumped to 9.1 in April from 3.5 in March. The gain came at the expense of order backlogs as the Unfilled Orders Index dropped from -6.4 to -8.7. The New Orders Index declined to -1.0 from +0.5 and were not strong enough to replenish the amount of backlogs.
- Without a gain in new orders next month, it is unlikely for production growth to remain positive given the severe drop in unfilled orders.
- The employment data were disappointing. The Number of Employees Index contracted, falling from 2.7 in March to -6.8. The average workweek improved but still remained in a contraction as that respective index increased from -12.9 to -2.1.
Big Picture
- Raw data available at: http://www.phil.frb.org
| Category | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Index | 1.3 | 2.0 | -12.5 | -5.8 | 4.6 |
| 6-month Outlook | 19.5 | 32.5 | 32.1 | 29.2 | 23.7 |
