KC Fed
  • Prior was -1
  • Composite index -8 vs -2 prior

Selected Manufacturing Comments

“It is clear inflation has forced the customer to make ‘either/or’ decisions on how they spend their money. We see value added items in the food sector being affected strongly. Our business is not bad per se, but not as robust as we would like to see. This is both on the restaurant side as well as retail grocery.”

“Hiring qualified hourly employees continues to be a challenge.”

“Access to unskilled labor is better than it has been since the start of the pandemic. Still not great quality wise, but the number of people looking for work is robust. Still challenges on hiring and retaining office/administrative staff. Salary/wage expectations from candidates is extremely high.”

“We believe that our customers are delaying orders to us due to the high cost of capital.”

Saw a quick slowdown in activity in the last few weeks. Projects put on hold, delays in permitting, etc.”