March Feb.
2008 2008
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Business barometer 48.2 44.5
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Prices paid 83.9 79.4
Production 50.4 46.5
New orders 53.9 48.8
Order backlogs 36.8 38.3
Inventories 42.0 46.0
Employment 44.6 33.5
Supplier deliveries 54.9 39.6
Employment below 50 but better. Prices paid showing that most manufacturers are seeing increased costs. New orders back to growing on average. But Order backlog not that hot. Overall, although still contracting if there can be a good contracting report, this one shows some promise.