MINNEAPOLIS (Oct. 17, 2014) — The 12 Federal Reserve districts reported “modest to moderate” growth for September and early October, according to the latest “Beige Book.”
Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Dallas and San Francisco described their economic growth during the period as moderate, while New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Va., Atlanta and Kansas City reported modest growth, according to the document issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Boston reported mixed economic results for the month, but contacts from several districts said they were optimistic about future economic activity, the document said.
Transportation services generally grew in most districts, the Beige Book said, although some noted capacity constraints in railroads and trucking. Manufacturing activity increased in most districts, especially Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Kansas City, it said.
Commercial loans, commercial construction and banking grew in most districts, but residential construction and consumer loans had mixed results, the report said.
The Beige Book is issued monthly by each Federal Reserve Bank on a revolving basis. Each document summarizes comments from business and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve System.
The latest Beige Book was issued just as the U.S. Department of Labor reported 264,000 initial unemployment claims for the week ending Oct. 11, the lowest level since January 2000.
The unemployment claims figure was down 23,000 from the 287,000 reported in the previous week.