Prior month comes in at 15.
The Richmond Fed manufacturing index for April came in much weaker than expected at -3 versus 16 expected. The prior month came in at 15.
- Shipments index -8 Maple versus +15 and March
- services revenue index +2 in April versus +25 in March
- number of employees 12 versus 11 last month
- Wages 27 versus 22 last month
- average workweek 8 versus 12 last month
- capacity utilization -4 versus 15
- new water volume -9 versus 17
- order backlog -4 versus 10
The index is at the lowest level since September 2016 and is the 1st negative since that date.
The Richmond Fed said:
"The index was weighed down by a contraction in shipments and new orders; however, its third component, employment, rose slightly and remained in expansionary territory. The negative reading of the local business conditions index also suggested worsening conditions for District manufacturers, but surveyed firms were generally optimistic that they would see overall growth in the next six months.
Survey results indicate that capital expenditures and wages increased among District manufacturing firms in April as both indicators reached record-high values of 31 and 27, respectively. Despite rising wages, firms continued to report difficulty in finding necessary skills.
Firms saw increased growth in prices paid in April, but growth of prices received continued to slow. Manufacturers expected to see faster growth in both prices paid and prices received in the coming months."
The market reaction is more focused on the home sales and the consumer confidence that was better than expected. The comments from the Richmond Fed also suggest good and bad and perhaps it is not as harsh as the overall index suggests.
