Outlays for equipment and software, which grew briskly from mid-2004 through the early part of this year, have moderated somewhat, though order backlogs for capital goods such as industrial machinery and other types of heavy equipment remain substantial.
8 Of note, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond recently published a case study of the success of early childhood education in Danville, Virginia, which is part of the fifth District. In 2010, this rural community had few and fragmented early child care and educational services.