Bloomberg News/Landov An employee sews a dress at the Ferrara Manufacturing Co. clothing factory in the Garment District of New York
The numbers: The Empire State manufacturing index rose 2.1 points to 21.1 in October, the New York Fed said Monday. Economists had expected a reading of 20, according to a survey by Econoday.
Any reading above zero indicates improving conditions.
What happened: The new-orders index and shipments sub-indexes picked up in October. The new-orders index rose 6 points to 22.5, and the shipments index rose 12 points to 26.3. Unfilled orders declined and inventories held steady. Firms remained “moderately optimistic” about the six-month outlook, the New York Fed said. Labor market indicators pointed to a modest increase in employment levels.
Big picture: The Empire State index has remained close to or above a 20 reading over the past six months. Overall, U.S. manufacturing has stayed strong despite angst over trade policy. The index is closely followed because it is the first of several regional manufacturing gauges to be released. While they can frequently be volatile from month to month, taken together the regional indexes present one of the timeliest reads on a critically cyclical sector.
Market reaction: U.S. stock futures YMZ8, -0.08% indicated a slightly weaker start to Wall Street benchmarks on Monday.
