Manufacturing Data a Bad Sign for the Economy
The continuing slowdown is likely an indicator of rocky times ahead
A new TV commercial running in the New York region features Robert De Niro lauding the "new" New York State economy to the tune of Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind. Quick-cut shots of high-tech manufacturing assembly lines, silicon wafers, and spinning wind turbines (among others) accompany De Niro's voice-over about attracting businesses and creating jobs, lowering tax rates, and spurring innovation. The message is clear: Business and manufacturing in New York State is making a big comeback. It'd be nice if it were true.
For the second straight month, manufacturing activity in the New York region slowed, this time to the lowest level since April 2009, during the worst of the global recession. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire Manufacturing Survey dropped to a minus 10.4 reading in September, nearly double the slowdown from August's reading of minus 5.85, and five times as bad as the median forecast of the 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, which called for a reading of minus 2. The slowdown was broad and deep, from new orders and shipments to employment. All sank more than expected.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?