NY Fed: Business activity continued to grow at a solid clip in New York State

"Business activity continued to grow at a solid clip in New York State, according to firms responding to the December 2017 Empire State Manufacturing Survey," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced on Friday.

Key highlights

The headline general business conditions index, at 18.0, remained close to last month’s level.

The new orders index and the shipments index both showed sustained strong gains, with the former holding steady at 19.5 and the latter edging up to 22.4.

Delivery times were slightly longer than last month, and inventory levels were stable.

Labor market indicators pointed to a small increase in employment but no change in hours worked.

Both input prices and selling prices rose at a somewhat faster pace than last month.

Indexes assessing the six-month outlook suggested that firms remained optimistic about future business conditions.