Low ag and energy prices continue to weigh on the region’s manufacturers

Low agriculture and energy prices helped drive down manufacturing activity in the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank region in February to its lowest level since 2009.

Food and beverage, chemical, metals, and plastics industries dipped the most. Activity was fairly weak across the district, which includes Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, the western third of Missouri and the northern half of New Mexico.

However, producers said their expectations for the future remained slightly positive.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Low ag and energy prices continue to weigh on the region’s manufacturers."