NYS Economic Indicators Continue To Slide

While The NYS Senate Continues To Fiddle

We'll let the numbers speak for themselves...

From The New York Federal Reserve Bank:

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers continued to deteriorate in June, at a moderately faster pace than in May. The general business conditions index fell 5 points, to -9.4. The new orders index remained negative and near last month’s level, while the shipments index fell 6 points to -4.8. The inventories index declined and remained well below zero. Price indexes were negative but modestly higher than in May, and employment indexes stayed below zero. Future indexes were generally positive and continued to rise, conveying an expectation that conditions should improve over the next six months. Both the capital spending and technology spending indexes rose into positive territory for the first time since October of last year.

In a series of supplementary questions, manufacturers were asked about their capital spending plans for 2009 relative to their actual spending for 2008, both overall and for a few broad categories of capital (see Supplemental Report tab). Similar questions had been asked in June 2008 and June 2007. In the current survey, 56 percent of respondents reported reductions in overall capital spending in 2009, while just 20 percent reported increases. These results contrast fairly markedly with those of the June 2008 survey, which showed nearly as many respondents reporting increases (32 percent) as decreases (36 percent). The 2009 results differ even more sharply from those of the 2007 survey, which showed far more firms reporting increases than reductions. Respondents were also asked about the extent to which various factors contributed positively or negatively to their planned changes in capital spending. Nearly 55 percent of those surveyed cited sales and demand trends as a negative factor, while just 21 percent cited these trends as a positive factor. The other major driver of spending reductions for 2009 was cash flow or balance sheet position. Estimated capital spending for calendar 2009 across all respondent firms averaged $1.9 million, down from $2.5 million in 2008—a 24 percent decline—while the median decreased from $500,000 to just $275,000, a drop of more than 42 percent. More ››

Darn those statistics! They're making our Legislators in Albany look bad. Like they're not doing anything. Twiddling their thumbs. Hummmph!
- - -
Comments? Click on the Comments link, below.
Feedback? Suggestions? A guest blog of your very own? Write to The Community Alliance at thecommunityalliance@yahoo.com.