Business activity “continued to expand, though growth was noticeably slower than in recent months,” the December Empire State Manufacturing Survey, released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, suggested.
The general business conditions index plunged to 10.9 in December from 23.3 in November.
Economists surveyed by IFR Markets had expected the index would be 20.6.
The new orders index slipped to 14.5 from 20.4, while the shipments index decreased to 21.0 from 28.0, and unfilled orders declined to negative 5.1 from zero, the Fed said.
The delivery time index slid to 3.2 from 4.4, while the inventories index fell to 7.1 from 10.9 in the prior survey. The prices paid index slid to 39.7 from 44.5, while the prices received index dipped to 12.8 from 13.1. The number of employees index jumped to 26.1 from 14.1, while the average employee workweek index slipped to 8.0 from 9.2, the Fed reported.
Looking six months into the future, the general business conditions index declined to 30.6 from 33.6 last month. The new orders index fell to 34.2 from 39.7, while the shipments index decreased to 34.3 from 37.2, and unfilled orders dropped to 3.8 from 8.0, the Fed said. The delivery time index fell to 4.5 from 6.6, while the inventories index rose to 8.3 from 3.6.
The prices paid index fell to 51.9 from 59.1, while the prices received index slipped to 27.6 from 31.4. The number of employees index grew to 19.4 from 16.6, while the average employee workweek index rose to 10.2 from 6.6, the Fed reported. The capital expenditures index climbed to 31.2 from 24.8. The technology spending index rose to 26.1 from 19.7.
