MNI Indicators - Chicago Business Barometer™: February 2024 Chicago Report™ Softened to 44.0

The Chicago Business BarometerTM, produced with MNI softened -2.0 points to 44.0 in February. This is the third consecutive monthly decline, pushing the index deeper into contractionary territory, and marking the lowest print since July 2023. We also note that this print is -1.4 points below the 2023 average.
The move lower was largely driven by falls in Production and Employment, while Supplier Deliveries also moved lower. New Orders, and Order Backlogs rose compared to January, limiting some of the move in the headline index.
Production fell -5.8 points to its lowest level since May 2023 and the third consecutive month on month fall. As was also the case last month, the decline was driven by a greater proportion of respondents reporting lower production.
Employment dropped -6.0 points to its lowest since July 2023. The smallest proportion of respondents since May 2020 reported that they had increased employment while we also saw the largest proportion of respondents reporting lower levels of employment since July 2023.
Supplier Deliveries were down -2.6 points to its lowest since October 2023 and taking the subindex back into contractionary territory.
Order Backlogs picked up +1.1 points, the second consecutive monthly rise.
New Orders increased slightly by +0.3 points, the highest level since November 2023.
Inventories rebuilt +6.0 points but remain in contraction. The rise was driven by more respondents replenishing inventory levels.
Prices paid saw a small change of +0.8 points.
The survey ran from February 1 to February 13.