Dallas Manufacturing Turns Down

We all know about Texas and the energy business, but Bizjournals details its manufacturing prowess:

The Lone Star state produces at least 8 percent of the United States’ total manufactured goods, ranking behind California in production.

Who knew? Unfortunately, Reliable Plant details the less than enthusiastic results:

Texas factory activity declined in October, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey, released October 26 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The production index — a key indicator of current manufacturing activity — edged further into negative territory, suggesting output in October contracted after remaining stable in September.

Current activity indexes for new orders and shipments turned negative, erasing gains seen last month. The company outlook and business activity indexes remained slightly negative, but a growing majority of executives reported no changes from the prior month and only a fifth noted worsening outlooks and decreased business activity

Source: Dallas Fed