Southeast Manufacturing Activity Falls for September
Press release from the issuing company
Tuesday, October 7th, 2014
Southeast manufacturing activity moderated in September after a strong August rally, according to the Southeast’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report released today by Kennesaw State University’s Econometric Center in the Michael J. Coles College of Business. The Southeast PMI for September decreased 1.7 points to 55, dropping manufacturing below its six-month average of 56.9, but leaving it in a range of sustained growth.
According to the report, new orders increased 4.5 points to 61, with 42 percent of respondents reporting higher new orders. Production and employment’s readings of 59 and 57, respectively, remain in a range for growth with 50 percent of respondents expecting production to be higher in the next three to six months, according to Don Sabbarese, co-director of the Econometric Center.
Six Southeastern states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee — are included in the Econometric Center’s monthly regional report. Four states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana — recorded lower PMIs.
“Southeast manufacturing’s lower readings for production, supplier delivery time and finished inventory more than offset higher new orders and employment,” Sabbarese said. “Finished inventory’s 8.6-point decrease had a disproportionate effect on the PMI.”
Highlights of the September Southeast PMI include:
- New orders increased 4.5 points to 61, based on increases for Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee
- Production decreased 1.2 points to 59, based on decreases for Alabama and Georgia
- Employment increased 0.5 points to 57, based on increases for Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee
- Supplier delivery decreased 3.6 points to 51, based on decreases for Alabama, Florida and Tennessee
- Finished inventory decreased 8.6 points to 47, based on decreases for Alabama and Georgia
- Commodity prices decreased 5.3 points to 53, based on decreases for Alabama, Florida and Georgia
The Southeast PMI reading is a composite of five variables — new orders, production, employment, supply deliveries and finished inventory. A sixth variable, commodity prices, is compiled by the Coles College’s Econometric Center but does not go into the PMI calculation.
