Manufacturing in Kansas City Fed region stops shrinking

Manufacturing in the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank district rose slightly in November, growing for the first time since February, and expectations for future activity improved considerably from the previous few months.

The region’s manufacturers have been hard hit by the sharp downturn in oil and industry drilling, and by falling demand for exports caused by an increase in the value of the dollar.

Most of the improvement came from durable goods sector, particularly aircraft, computer and electronic equipment production. Nondurable goods manufacturing slowed somewhat due to weaker chemicals and plastics production, but still remained positive.

The district includes Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, the western third of Missouri and the northern half of New Mexico.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Manufacturing in Kansas City Fed region stops shrinking."