New York Manufacturing Index Declines

Manufacturing growth in New York state fell this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday.

The regional Fed’s “Empire State Index,” generally the first economic indicator in a given month, fell to a minus 3.2 reading, from 0.6 in April.

Readings above zero indicate expansion and below that show contraction. The index averaged 17.2 last year.

Economists had forecast a reading of zero, Bloomberg said.

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