Empire State Manufacturing Survey Declined at Fastest Pace Since Great Recession

Northeast Regional Manufacturing Activity in Contraction for Sixth Straight Month

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey, a monthly gauge of regional manufacturers conducted by The New York Federal Reserve, fell thirteen points to -19.4. January marks the sixth consecutive month regional manufacturing activity in the Northeast contracted, and the survey declined at the fastest pace since the Great Recession.

The new orders and shipments indexes completely plummeted, indicating a steep decline in both orders and shipments. Price indexes suggested that both input prices and selling prices increased.

Labor market conditions also continued to deteriorate, the New York Fed reported, with employment indexes remaining in negative contraction territory. The index for number of employees was negative for a fifth straight month, though it did tick up slightly by three points to -13.0. Last month, the average workweek sharply declined but the index inched up this month. However, it remained negative at -6.0.

The six-month outlook was noticeably weaker, with the index for future general business conditions falling to its lowest level since early 2009.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey is the first of a series of monthly reports on regional manufacturing data. Last month, all regional indexes were in contraction territory and nationwide data, reported by the Institute of Supply Management, also showed contraction. The Supplemental Survey Report on job vacancies, worker skills and wages will be released January 19 at 8:30 a.m.