Kansas City Fed reports manufacturing moderated in September 26 (UPI) -- Manufacturing in the southern central states showed slightly slower growth in September compared to August, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank said Thursday. The manufacturing index for the Fed's 10th District -- which includes Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and parts of Missouri and New Mexico -- dropped from 6 to 2 in August, the Fed said. The production index fell for both durable and non-durable goods production, with the exception of machinery and computer equipment manufacturing, which saw "slight gains," the Fed said. The overall production index plunged, the Fed said, falling from 21 to 4. Numbers above zero indicate growth. Indexes for shipments, new orders and order backlogs also dropped. The index for new export orders and the employment index also fell, but dropped from positive territory to negative, the survey found. "We saw slightly slower growth this month, but firms were much more optimistic about industry activity in early 2014," said the bank's Vice President and Chief Economist Chad Wilkerson. "Worker shortages remained a problem at many firms," he said.