Richmond Fed manufacturing index for February 2021
- prior report
- manufacturing index 14 vs. 15 estimate. Prior month 14
- shipments 12 vs. 10 last month
- new orders 10 vs. 12 last month
- backlog of orders 18 vs. 6 last month
- capacity utilization 13 vs. 4 last month
- number of employees 22 vs. 23 last month
- wages 32 vs. 21 last month
- availability of skills needed -28 vs. -24 last month
- average workweek 18 vs. 10 last month
- prices paid 4.47% vs. 3.11% last month
- prices received 2.83% vs. 2.09% last month
- capital expenditures 9 vs. 5 last month
- finished goods inventories -3 vs. -6 last month
- raw material inventories -8 vs. 4 last month
- equipment and software spending 5 vs. -5 last month
- service expenditures -2 vs. -8 last month
- full report click here
comments from the Federal Reserve:
- All three component indexes-shipments, new orders, and employment-remained firmly positive.
- The index for vendor lead time, which hit a 25- year-high of 39 in January, rose further to 46 in February.
- Firms also reported decreased inventory levels, as the index for raw materials inventories hit a series low of −8.
- Manufacturers were optimistic that conditions would improve in the coming months.
- Many manufacturers increased employment and wages in February. However, finding workers with the necessary skills was difficult.
- The average growth rates of both prices paid and prices received by survey participants rose in February, as growth of prices paid continued to outpace that of prices received. Manufacturers expected this gap to narrow in the near future.
Overall a steady/ report vs. the prior month.
