Houston economy still expanding, purchasing managers' index shows

An employee works at the Festo distribution center in Mason, Ohio. A trade association said 14 of 18 manufacturing industries expanded in November. ﻿ An employee works at the Festo distribution center in Mason, Ohio. A trade association said 14 of 18 manufacturing industries expanded in November. ﻿ Photo: John Minchillo, STF Photo: John Minchillo, STF Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Houston economy still expanding, purchasing managers' index shows 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Houston's economy kept growing in January, even though readings for sales, production and employment levels all declined somewhat overall, according to a closely watched economic index.

The purchasing managers' index, a monthly indicator of economic activity based on business surveys, showed a slight increase to 54.8 last month, up 0.3 points in January, marking the third consecutive monthly expansion. On a scale of 0 to 100, a PMI reading of 50 or more indicates the economy expanded in a given month.

But the Institute for Supply Management said sales and new orders in Houston came in slightly lower, down 0.8 points to 60.1 in January. Production also fell 3.9 points to 53.4 and employment dropped 3.4 points to 57.2. The measure that offset those lower readings was the lead times index, a measure of delivery times for purchased products. It rose 7 points to 57.5.

The industries that reported strong levels of growth in January included transportation, wholesale trade and engineering and construction, which reported rising levels of sales, purchases and employment. The oil and gas industry, however, had an average month despite expectations of faster growth amid rising crude prices.

Related: Oil, manufacturing to drive Texas economy in 2018, Dallas Fed says