By Michael S. Derby
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is bolstering its data offerings tracking the state of supply chains.
The bank said Friday that it is launching new “Supply Availability Indexes” via a blog posting on Monday that going forward will feature as part of its regular monthly surveys of regional business activity.
Noting that supply chain pressures are a key driver of inflation, the bank said in a press release that the new indexes “present a new gauge to measure how widespread supply disruptions are, understand if availability is improving, and track inflationary pressures and the impact on local firms.”
The indexes will feature in future Empire State Manufacturing and Business Leaders surveys, the bank said. The new gauges can be joined with the bank’s monthly Global Supply Chain Pressures Index “to compare trends in the U.S to international supply availability,” the New York Fed said.
After surging during the coronavirus pandemic, supply chain pressures have subsided and helped inflation pressures fall markedly from its peak. The bank’s global supply chain index has been showing muted pressure on that front for some time.
(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)