“Demand softened as new orders declined significantly, and shipments were lower” over the last month, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey for March. The general business conditions index fell 18.5 points to -20.9, NYS’ fourth consecutive month of contracting manufacturing activity (a reading below 0.0 is consistent with contraction). These results are consistent with the national manufacturing trend as measured by the PMI index published by the Institute for Supply Management. See the full report here.
