Stat of the Day: Texas Manufacturing Activity Surges

With everybody on Wall Street talking gloom and doom, the Texas Manufacturing activity jumped in June to 5.8 from a -5.1 in May. This nearly 11 point jump caught most analysts off guard with the expectations of 0.0.

While generally ignored by the media, Texas remains a key figure in the manufacturing sector. The details were even more encouraging with production, capacity utilization, new orders, and unfilled orders up strong. While inventories and prices paid were down sharply.

Investors need to remember to research data outside the New York and Chicago regional feds that are primarily focused on by the media.

Some highlights:

• The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, rose from 5.5 to 15.5, posting its strongest reading in 15 months.
• The new orders index rose to 7.9, following three readings around zero, suggesting demand finally grew after staying flat since February. The shipments index rebounded to 9.6 after two months of near-zero readings. 
• The capacity utilization index rose from 5 to 13.3, reaching its highest level since early 2011.
• Employment grew at a faster pace in June, with the index rising from 8.5 to 13.7. Twenty-one percent of firms reported hiring new workers, while 8 percent reported layoffs.

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