• Prior was +0.2
• New orders +6.1 vs +11.8 prior
• Prices paid 32.7 vs 31.7 prior
• Employment -1.0 vs +7.5 prior

The surging energy market is undoubtedly a boom for Texas, even with the associated inflation headwinds. However it’s going to be tough to pull the trigger on fresh drilling unless executives feel that the war will continue.

The comments in the report might be more representative of how higher energy is hitting the broader economy:

Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing

• We have seen decreases in some of our costs, in
  particular agricultural raw materials. We have seen increases in the
  costs of our packaging materials, some of this related to increase in
  energy costs. We expect the Iran war to cause increases in energy costs
  for a period extending at least six months and potentially longer.
  This has increased our uncertainty for the rest of the year.

Chemical manufacturing

• The Iran war and bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz has
  caused significant supply chain disruption from China, allowing the
  U.S. chemicals sector to benefit from the supply bottleneck. We believe
  this to be short-lived and the situation to return to the lower demand
  levels in the latter half of 2026.

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

• I am thinking about recommending to our board to close the company.
• We have seen no impact yet from higher fuel prices.
  However, we expect to see this very soon, as our vendors will increase
  raw materials prices to include the increased cost for transportation.
• We would like to see lower interest rates throughout this year.

Food manufacturing

• Continuing confusion at the federal level, illiquid
  consumer base and falling federal government spending are not helping
  the food industry.
• High density Hispanic channels are down. Costs are up,
  and freight is increasing fast. Tariff chaos has wreaked havoc with all
  of our export customers and seasoning suppliers.
• We are worried about costs increasing due to fuel price
  increases. We are worried about a slowdown in the economy due to
  geopolitics.

Furniture and related product manufacturing

• The Iran war and impact on energy prices are concerns as
  consumers have to deal with the rapid increase in energy cost.
  Hopefully it will moderate as the conflict curtails. That said, the more
  demoralizing impact of the constant circus out of Washington and
  inability to fund critical infrastructure like TSA is killing the animal
  spirits of our economy.

Machinery manufacturing

• We are beating our competition due to the continued
  vertical integration plans that we are focused on implementing and
  improving. This requires a great deal of planning and money, but the
  payout is very sound.
• Spring has sprung. It’s truly like the balm of Gilead.
  After an extended period of ailment and woe, the healing has occurred
  and we are on our way to greater things. Our business growth thus far
  in 2026 is like a sweet fragrance that is healing our loss and
  hardship from prior years.
• We are still seeing strong business activity with our backlog increasing.
• Our company is seeing an increase in activity totally
  unrelated to the current geopolitical conditions. The effect of
  uncertainty delayed the start of a new manufacturing project in the U.S.
  (tariffs, capital expenditures) in 2025. Project 2025 is underway with
  a six-month delay and scaled back to accommodate a less ambitious
  picture for 2026. We are still recovering from 2025 plus a more
  conservative outlook for 2026. Things are trending upward in our field
  but at a much slower pace.

Miscellaneous manufacturing

• Many external factors contributing to an unstable market.
• If we could get our tariff reimbursement back, that would
  put us in a position to invest in growth. Without it, though, we don’t
  have the capital to invest in growth.

Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing

• We are waiting for home building activity to pick up, which is dependent upon interest rates.

Paper manufacturing

• Overall business still slow. Have achieved limited price
  reductions in some raw materials that are in an oversupply condition
  but not enough to keep up with the decline in selling prices of our
  products. We still see upward pressure on labor and benefits cost.
  Margins are reduced from 12 months ago.

Plastics and rubber products manufacturing

• Importing from China is precarious. The costs of product
  and freight are higher and slower. Suppliers are apprehensive. Their
  costs are increasing, especially a certain raw material plastic impacted
  by petrochemicals affected by cost of oil.

Printing and related support activities

• We have been stupid slow recently, slower than we can
  recall in many years. We continue to believe it’s from the chaos and
  confusion coming out of Washington. In addition, now with the Iran war,
  prices are going to shoot up due to shipping costs, and tariffs are
  still in effect. So, there is no telling when business will start to
  improve. We have some nice work coming in soon, but it’s work we knew
  was coming. We are seeing some improvement in our estimating backlog,
  which is a good sign of better days to come. The war is causing a
  disruption of raw materials prices as we are producing plastic-based
  products, virtually all of our raw materials are hydrocarbon based.
  Fifteen percent increases are normal.