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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (40628)	9/20/2001 4:27:46 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Please look at this what could have been, had we not have 11th, Sept..new orders were climbing, positve first time since Feb 2001, shipments were improving.. The index reversed course in September, increasing from its -23.5 reading in August to the current -7.3. This is a strong signal that manufacturing’s outlook has become more positive. New orders are finally positive, after 6 consecutive months of declines. The current value of 0.7 is in stark contrast to last month’s -20.4. Although one month is too soon to identify a trend, the sharp recovery may signal a turning point for the industry. Prices paid decreased faster than prices received. This in itself fueled higher profitability for the manufacturing industry and could account for much of its short-term optimistic outlook. The employment component of the index posted yet another decline. Currently, 21% of the survey respondents intend to cut their workforce. Last month, that value was 29% providing further support for the view that the industry may be nearing a turning point. Behind the Numbers The region’s manufacturing industry continues to decline. That said, the Philadelphia Fed Index of manufacturing activity marked a sharp rebound in September. The increase exceeded forecasters’ expectations by a wide margin. Because of the timing of the survey, this month’s data do not reflect events of September 11. Given this recent shock though, the results of this month’s survey must be used with caution. They indicate that the industry strengthened just prior to the attack. Most current indicators improved their values from last month. The strongest rebound was posted by the new orders component. Most components of the index contributed to the increase. As the average employee workweek lengthens, industry employers are more prone to hire new employees and expand production six months from now than they were planning on doing so last month. The input costs decreased faster than the decrease in the output prices. This increases the profitability margin of the industry. Shipments this month turned for the better, increasing to -3.9 from last month’s -17.4. Delivery times decreased considerably, indicative of better responsiveness to clients and market situation. In all, the survey’s results this month marked an improvement for the industry’s outlook. If this trend were to continue, manufacturers could push for the expansion of business in the next few months. Next month’s report will be the first to incorporate the impact of the September 11 attack. dismal.com