Kansas Fed: Manufacturing activity edged higher in November

"Growth in Tenth District manufacturing activity edged higher in November, while expectations for future activity moderated slightly," the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported on Friday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The month-over-month composite index was 15 in November, up from 8 in October and 13 in September.
• The increase in factory growth was driven by both durable and nondurable goods producers, particularly metals, aircraft, food, and plastics.
• The production, shipments, new orders, and order backlog indexes all increased to their highest levels since the middle of the year.
• The new orders for exports index inched up from 3 to 6, while the employment index eased somewhat.
• The materials inventory index rose from 10 to 15 and the finished goods inventory index also moved higher.