Surveys

Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey

March 25, 2024

Results Table

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Production	–4.1	1.0	–5.1	9.9	1(–)	20.5	54.9	24.6
Capacity Utilization	–5.7	–1.0	–4.7	8.0	3(–)	17.7	58.9	23.4
New Orders	–11.8	5.2	–17.0	5.3	1(–)	19.5	49.2	31.3
Growth Rate of Orders	–19.8	–5.5	–14.3	–0.6	23(–)	10.4	59.4	30.2
Unfilled Orders	–16.6	–13.7	–2.9	–2.1	6(–)	5.8	71.8	22.4
Shipments	–15.4	0.1	–15.5	8.3	1(–)	15.1	54.4	30.5
Delivery Time	–6.1	–8.0	+1.9	1.0	12(–)	13.3	67.3	19.4
Finished Goods Inventories	4.7	1.1	+3.6	–3.2	2(+)	22.1	60.5	17.4
Prices Paid for Raw Materials	21.1	15.4	+5.7	27.3	47(+)	28.5	64.1	7.4
Prices Received for Finished Goods	11.0	0.8	+10.2	8.6	4(+)	20.3	70.4	9.3
Wages and Benefits	20.4	20.1	+0.3	21.2	47(+)	23.8	72.8	3.4
Employment	1.5	5.9	–4.4	7.7	2(+)	14.6	72.3	13.1
Hours Worked	–7.9	–7.0	–0.9	3.4	6(–)	6.6	78.9	14.5
Capital Expenditures	1.8	5.0	–3.2	6.5	6(+)	17.6	66.6	15.8

General Business Conditions Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend**	% Reporting Improved	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	–16.2	–8.5	–7.7	4.8	25(–)	11.1	61.6	27.3
General Business Activity	–14.4	–11.3	–3.1	1.0	23(–)	11.1	63.4	25.5

Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Outlook Uncertainty	23.0	11.0	+12.0	17.2	35(+)	31.0	60.9	8.0

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Production	32.3	22.4	+9.9	36.4	47(+)	46.7	38.9	14.4
Capacity Utilization	25.1	20.2	+4.9	33.3	47(+)	40.4	44.3	15.3
New Orders	23.7	24.2	–0.5	33.8	17(+)	38.6	46.4	14.9
Growth Rate of Orders	18.6	17.7	+0.9	24.9	10(+)	30.2	58.2	11.6
Unfilled Orders	–0.2	3.9	–4.1	2.9	1(–)	11.4	77.0	11.6
Shipments	21.5	24.4	–2.9	34.8	47(+)	39.6	42.4	18.1
Delivery Time	0.3	–3.1	+3.4	–1.5	1(+)	10.4	79.5	10.1
Finished Goods Inventories	–9.9	–3.5	–6.4	0.0	2(–)	14.8	60.5	24.7
Prices Paid for Raw Materials	27.2	20.9	+6.3	33.5	48(+)	35.0	57.2	7.8
Prices Received for Finished Goods	17.3	22.7	–5.4	20.8	47(+)	24.7	67.9	7.4
Wages and Benefits	41.6	34.9	+6.7	39.3	238(+)	44.0	53.6	2.4
Employment	17.9	15.6	+2.3	22.9	46(+)	27.8	62.3	9.9
Hours Worked	–0.5	4.4	–4.9	8.8	1(–)	12.9	73.7	13.4
Capital Expenditures	12.7	17.7	–5.0	19.5	46(+)	25.4	61.9	12.7

General Business Conditions Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend**	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	12.5	11.8	+0.7	18.3	4(+)	25.8	60.9	13.3
General Business Activity	1.3	6.2	–4.9	12.3	2(+)	18.3	64.7	17.0

*Shown is the number of consecutive months of expansion or contraction in the underlying indicator. Expansion is indicated by a positive index reading and denoted by a (+) in the table. Contraction is indicated by a negative index reading and denoted by a (–) in the table.

**Shown is the number of consecutive months of improvement or worsening in the underlying indicator. Improvement is indicated by a positive index reading and denoted by a (+) in the table. Worsening is indicated by a negative index reading and denoted by a (–) in the table.

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.