Of the three Federal Reserve districts which have released their September manufacturing surveys - all are in expansion. A complete summary follows.

Analyst Opinion of Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey

This survey declined but remained well into positive territory with both new orders and unfilled orders also declining and remaining in positive territory.

Expectations from Bloomberg / Econoday was 8.0 to 14.3 (consensus 12.0), and the reported value was 19.5. From the Dallas Fed:

Texas factory activity continued to increase in September, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, edged down to 19.5 from 20.3 in August, indicating output grew at about the same pace as last month.

Other measures of current manufacturing activity also indicated continued growth. The new orders index increased and the growth rate of orders index ticked down but stayed positive, coming in at 18.6 and 9.7, respectively. The capacity utilization index edged up four points to 15.8, while the shipments index jumped nine points to 27.4.

Perceptions of broader business conditions improved in September. The general business activity index increased to 21.3, its highest reading in seven months. The company outlook index posted its 13th consecutive positive reading, jumping nine points to 25.6.

Labor market measures suggested faster employment growth and longer workweeks this month. The employment index came in at 16.3, its highest level since April 2014. Twenty-eight percent of firms noted net hiring, compared with 11 percent noting net layoffs. The hours worked index rose four points to 18.4.

Upward pressure on prices increased, while wage pressures held steady in September. The raw materials prices index pushed up eight points to 34.5, its highest reading since July 2011. The finished goods prices index climbed seven points to 17.5, its highest level in seven months. The wages and benefits index was essentially unchanged at 26.4.

Expectations regarding future business conditions continued to improve. The indexes of future general business activity and future company outlook remained elevated at 34.5 and 39.9, respectively. Other indexes for future manufacturing activity showed mixed movements but remained solidly in positive territory.

Source: Dallas Fed

Summary of all Federal Reserve Districts Manufacturing:

Richmond Fed (hyperlink to reports):

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Kansas Fed (hyperlink to reports):

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Dallas Fed (hyperlink to reports):

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Philly Fed (hyperlink to reports):

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New York Fed (hyperlink to reports):

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Federal Reserve Industrial Production - Actual Data (hyperlink to report):

Holding this and other survey's Econintersect follows accountable for their predictions, the following graph compares the hard data from Industrial Products manufacturing subindex (dark blue bar) and US Census manufacturing shipments (lighter blue bar) to the Dallas Fed survey (light blue bar).

Comparing Surveys to Hard Data:

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In the above graphic, hard data is the long bars, and surveys are the short bars. The arrows on the left side are the key to growth or contraction.