Washington, DC, January 16, 2007--Manufacturing activity in the New York area fell sharply in January to its lowest level since the summer of 2005, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said Tuesday.
The Empire State index fell to 9.1 in January from 22.2 in December.
Economists were forecasting the index to slip to 20.0 from the initial reading of 23.1 in December.
The new orders, shipments and employment indexes fell sharply, while the inventories index dropped to its lowest level in well over a year.
The new orders index fell to 10.3 from 22.5 in the previous month. Shipments fell to 16.1 from 27.6 in December. The employment index dropped to 6.9 in January from 18.6 in the previous month. The prices paid index rose to 35.1 from 28.1 in December.
