Reply #65: more info:

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-09-30T143058Z_01_N30302684_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-MIDWEST-UPDATE-1.XML

excerpt:

"It certainly suggests that the storms' impact was temporary, as the Fed and others had suggested," said Rick Egelton, chief economist at BMO Financial Group in Toronto.

New orders raced to 63.4 from 46.5 in August, and the order backlog rose to 54.3 from 45.7 last month.

Katrina "ironically may have had a positive effect on this index because of the big surge in new orders and, to a lesser extent, production," said Cary Leahey, senior managing director at Decision Economics.

The employment component of the index fell to 48.4 from 51.7 in August, suggesting hiring in the Chicago region might have hit a roadblock. Prices paid jumped to 76.3 from 62.9 as prices for fuel and other raw materials stayed high.

Many view the NAPM-Chicago as an industrial indicator, even though service sector companies are also polled, because the Chicago region, including parts of surrounding states, is relatively industrialized.

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