South By North Strategies, Ltd.

From the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s January survey of manufacturing activity in the South Atlantic (District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia):

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region advanced somewhat faster in March than a month earlier, according to the Richmond Fed’s latest survey. Looking at the main components of activity, shipments grew at a modest pace, while new orders were virtually unchanged and employment steadied. Other indicators were mixed. Backlogs of orders landed in negative territory and capacity utilization turned positive after being negative for the last three months. Vendor delivery times grew at a considerably quicker rate, while manufacturers reported somewhat slower growth in finished goods inventories.
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Looking forward, manufacturers’ optimism remained in place in March. Firms looked for steady growth in shipments, new orders, backlogs and capacity utilization in the months ahead, while they expected employment to grow moderately and reverse its negative reading that was seen last month.