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Texas manufacturing remains sluggish, according to Dallas Fed survey

For Immediate Release: January 28, 2008

DALLAS—Factory activity in Texas remained soft in January, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey.

The January survey can be found at: http://dallasfed.org/data/outlook/2008/tmos0801.html

Texas produces more than 8 percent of the total manufactured goods in the United States, ranking second behind California in factory production.

After a seasonal dip in December, nearly all current indicators rebounded, including production, capacity utilization, volume of new orders and shipments.

“Overall company business indicators suggest softening growth,” said Dallas Fed economist Fiona Sigalla. “However, while some activity has been slowing, the state’s manufacturing sector has been benefiting from strong demand for supplies and equipment to support the energy industry.”

General business conditions indexes improved slightly, while still remaining negative, according to the survey.

Upward price and wage pressures persist, and producers continue to report more price pressures on raw materials than on finished goods. The wages and benefits index also increased strongly.

Most indexes for activity six months from now remained positive but weakened slightly.

Respondents remain more pessimistic about general business conditions than their company outlook. The company outlook index improved from –8.9 to –1.8. The general business activity index increased from –23.9 to –20.7.

For the second month, respondents answered supplemental questions about credit conditions. The percentage of firms reporting difficulty obtaining credit declined from 14 percent in December to 6 percent in January.

The Dallas Fed conducts the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey monthly to obtain a timely assessment of the state’s factory activity.

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Media contact:
James Hoard
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Phone: (214) 922-5307
E-mail: james.hoard@dal.frb.org