Kansas City Fed Tenth District composite manufacturing index rose to 5 in February (Jan: 0), slight improvement in factory activity.

• The composite index increased from 0 in January and December to 5, indicating modest expansion after flat readings.

• Production and new orders grew moderately while employment declined modestly, showing uneven improvement across components.

• Durable manufacturing edged higher, driven by primary metal and electrical equipment, while nondurable activity declined further.

• Most year-over-year indexes were positive except employment, backlog of orders, and finished goods inventories, indicating selective weakness.

• Price growth for finished products and raw materials remained positive but eased slightly from last month.

• Future expectations rose with the composite index increasing to 15 (from 7) and employment expectations edging higher.

• Firms reported mixed cost pass-through ability: 30% can pass through only 0–20% of costs currently and 28% can pass through 80–100%.

• Nearly half of firms (46%) reported no change in pricing frequency versus last year, while 48% reported changing prices more often.