Fifth District Indexes of Manufacturing Output

Abstract

The absence of timely data on regional manufacturing output makes it difficult to determine what is happening in the manufacturing sector in a particular area. Data comparable to the monthly indexes of U.S. manufacturing output are not generally available for individual states or for specific regions of the country. Although annual surveys of manufacturers provide measures of output by state and industry, these data are published after a lag of more than a year. For example, data on state manufacturing output in 1986 are not yet available. Analysts of regional business conditions therefore need an indicator of current manufacturing output. Here we present this Reserve Bank's new monthly indexes of manufacturing output for the Fifth Federal Reserve District, its individual states, and three of its major industries -- textiles, chemicals, and electric equipment.