Manufacturing About three-quarters of the First District manufacturers contacted indicate that recent business is up from a year ago, with considerable variation across products. Respondents report double-digit sales gains for aircraft components, power equipment, and medical and pharmaceutical equipment. Industrial machinery orders are said to be growing nicely or recovering. Sellers of automotive components indicate mixed results. The demand for microelectronics products, electrical equipment, and apparel textiles is reported to have softened.
Several companies cite double-digit reductions in sales to Asian markets.
Looking forward, manufacturers are fairly upbeat, although the downturns in the microelectronics industry and in the Asian economies are expected to limit revenue growth for some firms. Almost all manufacturers indicate that materials costs are flat or down. They report that costs for oil-based products, metals, and wool are lower than a year ago, although two now expect metals prices to recover somewhat. Manufacturers are paying sharply higher prices for travel and outside programmers, but they say that competition and their own efforts to seek alternative suppliers are keeping a lid on the costs of other services. With few exceptions, manufacturing output prices are said to be stable.