N.Y. manufacturing index registers first negative reading since May

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general-business conditions index fell 4 points to -2.2 in November, its first negative reading since May.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released the monthly survey of the state’s manufacturing executives this morning.

Overall, business conditions “weakened somewhat” for New York manufacturers in November, the New York Fed said in the survey report.

The new-orders index also dipped into negative territory, falling 13 points to -5.5, and the shipments index fell below zero with a 14-point drop to -0.5, the survey found.

The prices-paid index dropped five points to 17.1, indicating a “slowing” of input-price increases, the New York Fed said in the survey report.

The prices-received index fell to -4.0, a sign that selling prices had declined for the first time in two years, according to the New York Fed.

Labor-market conditions were also “weak,” with the index for number of employees sliding 4 points to 0.0, while the average-workweek index dropped to -5.3.

Despite the negative readings on most of the indexes for current activity, the indexes for the six-month outlook continued to convey a “strong degree of optimism” about future-business conditions, the New York Fed said.

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