Earlier from the NY Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Survey
The October 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business activity grew modestly for New York manufacturers. The headline general business conditions index fell twenty-one points to 6.2, signaling that the pace of growth slowed significantly from last month. The new orders index dropped nineteen points to -1.7, indicating a slight decline in orders, and the shipments index fell twenty-six points to 1.1, indicating that shipments were flat. The employment index rose seven points to 10.2, pointing to an increase in employment levels, while the average workweek index fell to a level just below zero, suggesting that hours worked held steady …
Most of the indexes assessing the future outlook were down from last month. Nevertheless, they remained fairly high by historical standards, and conveyed an expectation that activity would continue to grow in the months ahead. The index for future general business conditions fell five points to 41.7.
emphasis added
This is the first of the regional surveys for October. The general business conditions index was well below the consensus forecast of a reading of 20.0, and indicates significantly slower expansion (above zero suggests expansion).