New York Area Manufacturing Shrinks for Second Straight Month
Manufacturing in the New York region contracted in September for a second straight month, reflecting declining orders and employment.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index was little changed at minus 14.7 after a minus 14.9 reading in August. Readings less than zero signal contraction at factories in New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.
The median projection in a Bloomberg News survey of economists called for a reading of minus 0.5. A measure of the six-month outlook declined to the lowest level since January 2013.
Factories are struggling against headwinds, including a stronger dollar and weaker overseas economies. The Fed bank’s measure of orders contracted for a fourth month.
The Fed’s gauge of employment at the area’s plants dropped to minus 6.2 in September, the weakest reading since December 2012. An index measuring producers’ outlook for the next six months decreased to 23.2 this month from 33.6.
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said U.S. industrial production fell 0.4% in August after a revised 0.9% gain a month earlier.
The median in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.2% decline.
