2025.10.2714:47:22UTC+00Texas Manufacturing Activity Improves Slightly in October

In October 2025, the Dallas Federal Reserve's general business activity index for Texas manufacturing experienced a slight increase, moving up four points to -5.0, yet still indicating a decline. The production index held steady at 5.2, pointing to below-average output growth for the second consecutive month. Business outlooks remained stable, with the company outlook index nearly flat at -0.3, although there was a notable rise in uncertainty, increasing by eight points to 22.2. The index for new orders was largely unchanged at around -1.7, while capacity utilization saw a decline, dropping to -1.1 from 3.9. The shipments index remained constant at 5.8. Employment conditions showed slight improvement, with the employment index climbing to 2.0, as 18% of companies reported hiring, and 16% experienced layoffs. The average hours worked decreased to -5.5. Price and wage pressures reduced, with raw material prices dropping to 33.4, finished goods prices to 7.7, and the wages and benefits index to 14.2. Expectations for the upcoming six months remained positive, but were weaker, with future production expectations decreasing to 21.0, and general activity forecasted at 7.0.