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 stabilized in November following four months of contraction, according to the Richmond Fed’s latest survey. The index of overall activity steadied as a slightly positive reading for shipments offset a slight decrease in new orders and a flat reading in employment. Modest improvement was also evident in most other indicators. District contacts reported continuing moderate weakness in backlogs, but noted that capacity utilization edged lower. Delivery times grew at a somewhat quicker pace, while inventories grew at a slightly slower rate.
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Looking forward, manufacturers were generally more optimistic about their business prospects for the next six months. Contacts at more firms anticipated that shipments, new orders, backlogs, capacity utilization and capital expenditures would grow more quickly during the next six months.