South By North Strategies, Ltd.

From the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s latest 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 continued to contract in October, according to the Richmond Fed’s latest survey. The index of overall activity remained at last month’s level with all broad indicators — shipments, new orders, and employment — landing in negative territory. Continued softness was also evident in most other indicators. District contacts reported more moderate weakness in backlogs and capacity utilization, but noted that delivery times and raw materials inventories grew at a somewhat quicker pace.
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Looking ahead, manufacturers’ assessments of business prospects for the next six months were on par with last month. Contacts at more firms anticipated that shipments, new orders, backlogs, and capacity utilization would grow roughly on pace with September’s expectations, while growth in capital expenditures would be faster.