2009 News Releases

For immediate release:
February 23, 2009

Media contact:
Alexander Johnson
Phone: (214) 922-5288
e-mail: alexander.johnson@dal.frb.org

Texas Factory Activity Still Contracting, According to Dallas Fed Survey

 DALLAS—Texas manufacturing activity continued to deteriorate in February, according the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey.

All indexes for current activity remained at extremely low levels.
The January survey can be found at http://dallasfed.org/data/outlook/index.html.

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

The production index fell to a new low, with nearly half of respondents indicating declines in output. The share of respondents reporting declines in capacity utilization, volume of new orders and shipments exceeded those noting improvements by four-to-one.

The company outlook and general business activity indexes continued to reveal overwhelmingly negative sentiment, with 54 percent of respondents seeing a worsening outlook and 59 percent noting weakening market conditions.

Manufacturers reported downward prices pressures. Forty-three percent noted declines in input prices, and 37 percent cited lower prices for their goods. Firms’ expectations for future price increases were modest.

Indexes for future factory activity suggest the region’s manufacturers expect little or no growth in demand over the next six months. Indexes for future production, volume of new orders and shipments remained close to record lows, and two-thirds of respondents said they expected no change or further declines in these measures six months from now.

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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