Factory Activity Increasing, Federal Reserve Says
actory activity increased throughout most of the country, as the U.S. economy "continued to expand" in January and February with moderate employment growth, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its Beige Book survey of regional economies.
The report is released eight times a year from information compiled by each of the Fed's 12 district banks. This report was prepared by the Philadelphia Fed and is based on information collected before Feb. 23.
All but one district said the manufacturing sector was improving, and several had positive comments regarding the status of the trucking and shipping industry.
Cleveland also said the retail sector was lifting demand for trucking and shipping firms, causing several firms to plan an expansion of their fleets during 2004.
Similarly, the Atlanta district reported higher demand for trucking services, but higher motor fuel prices had reduced profit margins for trucking companies.
And although the Dallas Fed said trucking firms saw a seasonal drop in demand, they were expecting activity to increase.
Overall, retail sales rose in most districts, the Fed said, with "strong or strengthening" sales in the New York, Richmond and Dallas districts. Consumer spending on general merchandise rose in most of the Fed's regions except for St. Louis, which reported a slight decline, the report found.
The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee will use the survey when it meets March 16 to help decide whether to raise its benchmark overnight bank lending rate, Bloomberg said. The FOMC kept the rate at a 45-year low of 1% since June.
