Surveys

Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey

Click on links in the table for greater details. Historical data are available from June 2004 to the most current release month.

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Oct Index	Sep Index	Change	Indicator Direction*	Trend** (Months)	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Production	6.7	16.7	–10.0	Increasing	4	28.1	50.5	21.4
Capacity Utilization	0.8	13.5	–12.7	Increasing	4	21.1	58.6	20.3
New Orders	–3.5	–2.9	–0.6	Decreasing	2	27.1	42.4	30.6
Growth Rate of Orders	–5.1	–5.8	+0.7	Decreasing	2	20.6	53.7	25.7
Unfilled Orders	–7.5	–1.1	–6.4	Decreasing	23	12.7	67.1	20.2
Shipments	1.9	20.1	–18.2	Increasing	4	24.6	52.7	22.7
Delivery Time	–1.2	3.2	–4.4	Decreasing	1	9.9	79.0	11.1
Materials Inventories	–5.5	–7.7	+2.2	Decreasing	15	12.7	69.1	18.2
Finished Goods Inventories	1.8	–0.9	+2.7	Increasing	1	15.7	70.4	13.9
Prices Paid for Raw Materials	13.7	13.3	+0.4	Increasing	7	22.3	69.1	8.6
Prices Received for Finished Goods	1.2	–0.9	+2.1	Increasing	1	11.4	78.4	10.2
Wages and Benefits	16.4	21.0	–4.6	Increasing	83	17.2	82.0	0.8
Employment	0.2	2.3	–2.1	Increasing	2	17.8	64.6	17.6
Hours Worked	–1.8	3.7	–5.5	Decreasing	1	16.2	65.8	18.0
Capital Expenditures	8.7	3.1	+5.6	Increasing	2	17.4	73.9	8.7

General Business Conditions Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Index	Sep Index	Change	Indicator Direction*	Trend** (Months)	% Reporting Improved	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	1.8	6.7	–4.9	Improving	2	17.8	66.2	16.0
General Business Activity	–1.5	–3.7	+2.2	Worsening	22	18.5	61.5	20.0

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Oct Index	Sep Index	Change	Indicator Direction*	Trend** (Months)	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Production	33.0	30.5	+2.5	Increasing	92	48.2	36.6	15.2
Capacity Utilization	32.8	29.3	+3.5	Increasing	92	44.6	43.7	11.8
New Orders	32.2	29.1	+3.1	Increasing	92	48.4	35.5	16.2
Growth Rate of Orders	23.5	19.1	+4.4	Increasing	92	37.0	49.5	13.5
Unfilled Orders	0.7	2.5	–1.8	Increasing	13	15.3	70.1	14.6
Shipments	26.5	26.1	+0.4	Increasing	92	42.3	41.8	15.8
Delivery Time	–5.6	–1.5	–4.1	Decreasing	3	7.2	80.0	12.8
Materials Inventories	0.9	1.9	–1.0	Increasing	2	18.5	63.9	17.6
Finished Goods Inventories	0.9	5.8	–4.9	Increasing	4	15.9	69.2	15.0
Prices Paid for Raw Materials	25.9	25.2	+0.7	Increasing	91	29.6	66.7	3.7
Prices Received for Finished Goods	14.0	8.7	+5.3	Increasing	9	24.3	65.4	10.3
Wages and Benefits	36.4	31.2	+5.2	Increasing	149	39.3	57.8	2.9
Employment	14.2	14.5	–0.3	Increasing	47	32.7	48.8	18.5
Hours Worked	2.8	6.1	–3.3	Increasing	5	15.0	72.8	12.2
Capital Expenditures	14.0	13.5	+0.5	Increasing	83	29.9	54.2	15.9

General Business Conditions Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Index	Sep Index	Change	Indicator Direction*	Trend** (Months)	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	12.2	17.8	–5.6	Improving	9	27.4	57.4	15.2
General Business Activity	4.8	9.3	–4.5	Improving	5	24.7	55.4	19.9

*Indicator direction refers to this month's index. If index is positive (negative), indicator is increasing (decreasing) or improving (worsening). If zero, indicator is unchanged.

**Number of months moving in current direction.

Data have been seasonally adjusted as necessary.

Questions regarding the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey can be addressed to Emily Kerr at emily.kerr@dal.frb.org.