New York manufacturing index plunges in January

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index fell 13 points to -19.4, declining for a sixth consecutive month.

Business activity for New York manufacturers fell “at the fastest pace since the Great Recession,” or early 2009, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a report issued Friday.

A reading below zero represents a decline in manufacturing activity while a positive number shows expansion.

The new orders and shipments indexes “plummeted,” indicating a “steep decline” in both orders and shipments.

Price indexes suggested that both input prices and selling prices increased.

Labor-market conditions continued to “deteriorate,” with employment indexes remaining in negative territory.

The six-month outlook among survey respondents was “noticeably weaker,” with the index for future general-business conditions falling to its lowest level since early 2009, according to the New York Fed.

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com