02:39 PM EDT, 10/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Manufacturing activity in the Mid-Atlantic region ramped up at a stronger-than-expected pace this month as orders and shipments rebounded, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey's headline gauge for business activity climbed to 10.3 in October from 1.7 in September, according to the regional Fed. A survey compiled by Bloomberg indicated a smaller sequential improvement to 3.

Some 24% of firms in the Oct. 7-14 survey reported increases in general activity while 14% reported decreases, with 57% reporting no change, the survey showed. "Manufacturing activity in the region expanded overall," the Fed branch said.

The metric charting new orders swung positive at 14.2 this month from minus 1.5 the month prior while shipments rebounded to 7.4 from minus 14.3.

The employment gauge dipped to minus 2.2 in October from 10.7 in September while "firms reported mostly steady employment," according to the Philly Fed.

Price growth decelerated as the prices paid index cooled to 29.7 in October from 34 in September, while the index for selling prices eased to 17.9 from 24.6, the survey results showed.

Six months out, expectations for general activity more than doubled to 36.7 in October. The future new orders component surged to 40.1 from 21.8 month to month. The forward-looking shipments index jumped to 45.8 this month from 26.8 in September, while employee count expectations improved.

Both future price indexes remained elevated, with none of the firms expecting decreases in either, according to the survey.