The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index rose 6 points to 10.1 in April as “business activity grew modestly in New York.”

The index had fallen 5 points to 3.7 in March after rising 5 points in February.

The April reading, based on firms responding to the survey, indicates “that growth picked up somewhat but remained fairly subdued,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its April 15 survey report.

A positive index number indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative index reading points to a decline in the sector.

The survey found 33 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 23 percent indicated that conditions had worsened, the New York Fed said.

Survey details

The new-orders index rose 5 points to 7.5, indicating orders “picked up slightly,” the New York Fed said. 

The shipments index edged up a point to 8.6, pointing to “continued modest growth” in shipments. Unfilled orders were little changed, while delivery times and inventories both increased.

The prices-paid index fell 7 points to 27.3 and the prices-received index declined 4 points to 14.0, indicating that both input price increases and selling price increases “slowed.” 

The index for number of employees edged down 2 points to 11.9, pointing to ongoing employment gains. 

After dipping into negative territory last month, the average-workweek index rose 8 points to 4.3, suggesting hours worked increased slightly.

Optimism about the six-month outlook was much lower than last month, the New York Fed said. 

The index for future business conditions dropped 17 points to 12.4, its lowest level in more than three years. The indexes for future new orders and shipments were also “well below” last month’s levels. 

Nonetheless, firms continued to expect solid increases in employment and hours worked in the months ahead. The capital-expenditures index edged down to 25.2, and the technology-spending index was unchanged at 20.3.

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.      

Hotels in Onondaga county welcomed fewer guests in February than in the year-ago month, according to a new report.

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county fell 1.8 percent to 46.9 percent in February from 47.7 percent a year prior, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. It was the fifth straight month in which Onondaga County’s occupancy rate declined compared to the year-earlier period. 

Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, rose 4.4. percent to $45.84 in February from $43.91 in February 2018. 

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, jumped 6.3 percent to $97.74 in February, compared to $91.97 a year earlier. It was the 11th consecutive month in which the county’s ADR rose.    

NEW HARTFORD — One Realty Partners LLC, a growing residential real-estate brokerage, in February opened a 2,000-square-foot office at 13 New Hartford Shopping Center in New Hartford, which replaces its previous downtown Utica office.

The firm closed the Utica office due to construction on Genesee Street in the city’s Bagg’s Square district, David Paciello, owner/broker says.

One Realty Partners leases its new space in New Hartford from Bill Morris of the New Hartford Shopping Center Trust. The firm chose the shopping center site with its ample parking and ease of access to better serve its customers in the area.

Paciello is now planning a second office opening in May in Rome, at 209 N. Washington St. One Realty Partners will lease its space from Bob Harrod, who owns Hillcrest Real Estate and Technergetics, LLC, he says.

Paciello projects One Realty Partners will generate revenue growth of 25 to 50 percent in 2019. He attributes the success of his company to hard work and a culture that operates from the ground up instead of the top down. 

“Most of our agents come from other agencies. We make sure our agents are successful by providing mentoring and offering marketing tools not available to them if they were not with our agency. We make use of social media and are less print-focused than other agencies,” he says.

One Realty Partners has 20 agents. A few will transfer to Rome because that is where they want to be based. 

Although the company handles all types of real estate, its specialty is homes.

One Realty Partners recently acquired Flash Realty of Whitesboro. The firm gained six agents in the acquisition.

Prior to founding One Realty Partners in 2017, Paciello worked as program manager for sales operations and program director for 3rd party threat analysis at Cisco Systems in the San Francisco Bay area, according to his LinkedIn profile. He holds MBA and bachelor’s degrees from SUNY Polytechnic Institute. He serves on the board of directors of the Mohawk Valley Association of Realtors.  

SYRACUSE — The Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives (CNYSME) will honor Mark Re — VP & regional manager of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services — as the 43rd recipient of its annual Crystal Ball Award.

CNYSME will recognize Re during the annual Crystal Ball and Sales & Marketing Excellence Awards presentation and celebration on the evening of April 30 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown.

“I was heartened. I was humbled,” Re told CNYBJ in a Nov. 30, 2018 phone interview, regarding his award selection. “I do choose to lead my life a certain way, and I do a great deal of volunteering and giving back because I feel strongly about it. I don’t necessarily flaunt it.”

When CNYSME representatives visited Re, he just assumed they wanted him to volunteer for a given project. He wasn’t expecting the notification on the Crystal Ball Award. 

“So I was surprised. It was a pleasant surprise,” Re adds.

An “enduring symbol” of the organization’s mission, CNYSME annually awards the Crystal Ball to a local businessperson or group of business people “in recognition of their contributions to the sales and marketing profession and for their endeavors in the areas of community development and support.” 

Founded in 1935, CNYSME says it is the only organization focused exclusively on the needs of sales and marketing professionals in Central New York. Its mission is to help members grow their businesses by offering workshops, training sessions, networking opportunities, and scholarships to those planning a career in the industry.

About Mark Re

Re is a licensed real-estate broker and holds several designations, per the CNYSME news release. He has served as president of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors (GSAR) and as president of the Central New York Information Services “for several years.” Re is also an approved instructor for the New York State Association of Realtors and serves on the “Leading Edge Advisory Board” of the National Association of Realtors.

GSAR has previously honored Re with its “Realtor of the Year Award” and twice chose him for its “Realtor Broker/Manager of the Year Award.” The organization also selected him for its “Good Neighbor Award.” 

Additionally, he has received Chicago’s Nationwide Real Estate Recruiting Network “Recruiter of the Year Award” and most recently, the New York State Association of Realtors “Community Service Award.” 

Re has served on the boards of director for area nonprofit organizations, including Onondaga Community College, Upstate University Hospital, Crouse Hospital, Cortland Repertory Theatre, Salt City Center for the Performing Arts, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, and the Salvation Army Advisory Council. 

Onondaga Community College in October chose Re for its Alumni Faces Award. And, the United Way of Central New York presented Re with its “Customer Service Award” for outstanding contributions to the community.

Crystal Ball Award: Criteria, recent past winners

The criteria for Crystal Ball recognition includes holding a position as CEO, president, or director of a Central New York business; a person who visibly impacts the progress and prosperity of Central New York; a leader who “demonstrates commitment to superior quality and professionalism;” a person who “fosters excellence” in their industry; local involvement in community and civic organizations; and “demonstrates and practices an appreciation” of the sales and marketing industry, per the CNYSME.

“When I look at the criteria that CNYSME’s Crystal Ball Award is based upon, Mark Re is living proof of what the award represents,” Brooks Wright, CNYSME president, said in the release. “His leadership qualities, community involvement, knowledge of sales and marketing in his industry and philanthropic participation in so many worthy organizations are what this recognition is all about. He truly ‘pays it forward,’ and CNYSME is proud to honor Mark Re. I look forward to presenting him with the Crystal Ball Award on April 30.” 

Re will join a list of past Crystal Ball winners that includes the 2018 recipient, Kimberly Boynton, president and CEO of Crouse Health; the 2017 winner, Phil VanHorne, chairman and CEO of BlueRock Energy, Inc.; the 2016 recipient, Allen Naples, senior VP and regional president of M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB); and the 2015 honoree, Robert Daino, then-president and CEO of WCNY, the area’s public broadcaster; 

Other past winners include Howard Dolgon, owner, president, CEO, and team governor of the Syracuse Crunch minor league hockey team in 2014; Peter Belyea, president of CXtec and TERACAI in 2013; Debbie Sydow, former president of Onondaga Community College in 2012; and John Stage, founder and CEO of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in 2011, according to the CNYSME website.

Consumer sentiment in upstate New York edged up to 89.0 in the first quarter of 2019 from the last reading of 88.4 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

That’s according to the latest quarterly survey of upstate New York and statewide consumer sentiment that the Siena College Research Institute (SRI) released on April 9. 

Upstate’s overall sentiment of 89.0 was 4.3 points below the statewide consumer-sentiment level of 93.3, which declined 0.6 points from the fourth quarter.

The statewide figure was 5.1 points lower than the first-quarter figure of 98.4 for the entire nation, which is down 0.1 points from the fourth-quarter measurement, as measured by the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index.

New York’s index of consumer sentiment remains in the low 90s for the third consecutive quarter, and the survey numbers were “a little stronger than I thought they would be,” says Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI founding director.

He recalled the stock market in December was “really not very strong at all,” and he was worried that any of those concerns among consumers might “spill over here a little bit.” 

“But, generally speaking, these numbers are looking pretty good,” says Lonnstrom, who spoke with CNYBJ on April 17.

He also notes that the survey’s current-confidence component is much higher — 101.2 —compared to the future-confidence component both among statewide and upstate respondents. The upstate future-confidence sentiment measured 81.3, while the statewide future-confidence sentiment measured 88.3. The overall consumer-sentiment index figure is a combination of the current-sentiment and future-sentiment components.

“People feel much better about today than they do tomorrow in every category. It doesn’t matter … man, woman, upstate, downstate, high income, low income, Democrat, Republican. In every case, people are feeling better today than they are about tomorrow,” says Lonnstrom.

In the first quarter of 2019, buying plans rose 4.3 percentage points since the fourth-quarter measurement to 33.9 percent for furniture and increased 2.8 points to 23.2 percent for major home improvements.

Buying plans were down 0.7 percentage points to 23.7 percent for cars and trucks, slipped 1.7 points to 49.4 percent for consumer electronics, and fell 1.5 points to 10.5 percent for homes.

“Buying plans are looking pretty good … down in a few cases, up in a few cases … still strong. So people are looking at buying cars, homes, home improvement, furniture, consumer electronics, TVs, and tablets,” says Lonnstrom.

Gas and food prices

In SRI’s quarterly analysis of gas and food prices, 50 percent of upstate respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly budgets, up from 44 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 and up from 41 percent in the third quarter of last year.

In addition, 44 percent of statewide respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly spending plans, up from 43 percent in the fourth quarter and up from 35 percent in the third quarter.

When asked about food prices, 62 percent of upstate respondents indicated the price of groceries was having a serious impact on their finances, up from 60 percent in the fourth quarter and up from 53 percent in the third quarter.

At the same time, 59 percent of statewide respondents indicated the price of food was having a serious impact on their monthly finances, down from 61 percent in the fourth quarter and up from 52 percent in the third quarter of 2018. 

“A year ago, only 29 percent of the people felt it was having a real bad impact on their family budget. That figure is now up to 44 percent, so we’ve got to keep an eye on that,” says Lonnstrom.

SRI conducted its survey of consumer sentiment between March 7 and March 20 by telephone calls to 384 New York resident adults via landline and cell phones and 420 responses drawn from a proprietary online panel of New Yorkers.

It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, according to SRI.