Last month index was 22
Services at 22 vs 9 in March
Manufacturing at 25 vs 17 in March
The Richmond Fed Manufacturing index beat estimates of 16 this month, coming in at 20. The prior month was reported at 22.
The index for shipments rose and the index for new orders remained very strong. Employment fell to 5 from 20 though.
This was the first time since 1994 that the composite index remained at or above 20 for two consecutive months. The majority of firms continued to report longer workweeks and increased wages.
Looking six months ahead, manufacturing executives in the district remained optimistic, although many of the indexes fell slightly from their March readings.
The only two indexes that increased were expected capacity utilization and expected capital expenditures. However, the expected shipments index remains strong at 42 in April as was expected new orders index at 46 (vs 48 last).
