New York Manufacturing Index Falls

Manufacturing activity in the New York region expanded in June at the slowest rate in seven months, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Friday.

The regional Fed’s “Empire State Index,” generally the first economic indicator in a given month, dropped to a 2.3 reading, from 17.1 in May, the regional Fed said.

Readings above zero indicate expansion.

The June reading was below economists’ forecasts of a 12.5 reading, Bloomberg reported.

Manufacturing is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.