2009 News Releases

For immediate release:
January 26, 2009

Media contact:
James Hoard
Phone: (214) 922-5307
e-mail: james.hoard@dal.frb.org

Texas Manufacturing Remains Weak, According to Dallas Fed Survey

DALLAS—Texas manufacturing activity remained weak in January, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey.

The January survey can be found at: http://dallasfed.org/data/outlook/2009/tmos0901.html

Texas produces more than 8 percent of the total manufactured goods in the United States, ranking second behind California in factory production.

Current activity indexes for production, capacity utilization, growth rate of orders, delivery time, volume of new orders and shipments remained negative at near-record lows.

Most indexes for future activity stayed flat, and respondents continued to report bleak six-month expectations.

Concerns about the deepening national recession continued to depress business sentiment. Both the company outlook and general business activity indexes continued to reveal overwhelmingly downbeat sentiment, with 47 percent of respondents reporting a dismal outlook and 55 percent noting worsening market conditions.

Price pressures continued to subside, and firms’ expectations for future price increases were subdued as well.

The materials inventories and capital expenditures indexes slipped further into negative territory. More than 35 percent of producers reported shrinking their inventories and capital expenditure budgets in light of weak of demand.

The Dallas Fed conducts the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey monthly to obtain a timely assessment of the state's factory activity.

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