From the Philly Fed: February 2019 Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey
Manufacturing conditions in the region weakened this month, according to firms responding to the February Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The indicators for general activity, new orders, and shipments fell into negative territory, but the indicator for employment remained positive. Input prices also moderated notably this month. The survey’s indexes for future conditions were mostly steady, with firms remaining generally optimistic about growth over the next six months.
The index for current manufacturing activity in the region decreased from a reading of 17.0 in January to -4.1 this month. This is the index’s first negative reading since May 2016. Both the new orders and shipments indexes also fell this month. The current new orders index decreased nearly 24 points to -2.4, and the current shipments index decreased 17 points to -5.3.
The firms continued to add to their payrolls this month. The current employment index improved from a reading of 9.6 in January to 14.5 this month.
emphasis added
Here is a graph comparing the regional Fed surveys and the ISM manufacturing index:
Click on graph for larger image.
The New York and Philly Fed surveys are averaged together (yellow, through February), and five Fed surveys are averaged (blue, through January) including New York, Philly, Richmond, Dallas and Kansas City. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI (red) is through January (right axis).
This suggests the ISM manufacturing index will show expansion again in February, but at a level than in January.