- Prior was -12.8
Details:
Employment: +6.0 vs +4.6 last month
Prices paid: +56.1 vs +49.2 last month
New orders: -8.6 vs +18.2 last month
That's an unwelcome rise in prices paid and a return to negative for new orders after two positive months.
Shipments: -8.7 vs +6.0 last month
Unfilled orders: -6.5 vs -2.2 last month
Inventories: +2.7 vs +5.4 last month
Average workweek: +3.7 vs +12.8 last month
Six-months from now indicators:
6 month index: +49.8 vs +36.2 last month
Capex index 6-month forward: +26.7 vs +25.2 last month
The six-month index is hawkish but this is dovish:
In this month’s special questions, the firms were asked to forecast the changes in prices of their own products and for U.S. consumers over the next four quarters. Regarding their own prices over the next year, the firms’ median forecast was for an expected increase of 3.0 percent, down from 4.1 percent when this question was last asked in August. The firms also reported a median increase of 3.0 percent in their own prices over the past year, down from 3.5 percent. The firms expect their employee compensation costs (wages plus benefits on a per employee basis) to rise 3.3 percent over the next four quarters, down slightly from 3.5 percent in August.
It's tough to pick up any consistent thread from this report.
