Philadelphia Fed Says Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing Dropped Off In September

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said Tuesday that a gauge of mid-Atlantic manufacturing activity dropped off in September, falling far more than anticipated from August.

The Philadelphia Fed said its business activity index decelerated down to 22.5 in September, down from August’s reading of 28.0, which was touted as the best reading for the index since March of 2011. Though it may seem robust in today’s economy, it isn’t much of a bar to reach historically. Yet analysts this month were anticipating a reading of 23, a reading they didn’t get.

Any reading above zero indicates expansion in the region’s manufacturing. The survey covers factories in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.

It is widely viewed to be one of the first monthly indicators of the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector proceeding a national report by the Institute for Supply Management.

The six-month business conditions index fell to 56.0 from 66.4 in August, however, the employment subindex actually increased from 9.1 to 21.2. Those numbers represent the subindex hitting its highest level since May of 2011.