Washington, DC, September 21, 2006--Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region stalled in September, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported Thursday.
The Philadelphia Fed diffusion index dropped to -0.4 in September from 18.5 in August. This is the first negative since April 2003. Readings below zero indicate contraction.
The decline was much larger than expected. Economists were expecting the index to slip only to 14.3.
The new orders index dropped to -1.3 from 15.7, while the shipments index fell to -6.8 from 22.3. Inflationary pressures eased slightly. The prices paid index dropped to 38.1 from 45.3. Overall employment was higher however. The employment index rose to 10.7 from 8.2.
