Below are highlights from the monthly survey of Southeastern manufacturers conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in April.
•Current indicators of manufacturing activity in the region remained soft in March, continuing a pattern observed since the end of 1999.
•The current production index posted a moderate rise to 10.4 after a dip of nearly equal magnitude to 6.8 in February. Other current activity indexes were soft.
•Most of the outlook indexes declined in March following some weakening in February, but levels generally remained in the moderate range. The outlook index for production fell to 23.4 from 35.9 in February. Outlook indexes for shipments and new orders posted similar declines but remained moderately strong. Southeastern manufacturers still anticipate maintaining a close watch on inventory levels even though outlook inventories were up marginally. The outlook index for capital expenditures fell sharply to its second-lowest level for the series but remained slightly positive.
•Current price indexes rose somewhat, continuing a recent trend of relatively firm price indexes. The prices paid index was at its highest level since April 1995. The outlook indexes for prices received and prices paid were down somewhat after high levels in January and February.
SOUTHEASTERN MANUFACTURING INDICATORS
(through April 2000)
