The Empire State Manufacturing Survey fell significantly (14 points), and entered contraction for the first time in nearly two years. Key internals were also in contraction.

As this index is very noisy, it is hard to understand what these massive moves up or down mean – however this regional manufacturing survey is normally one of the most pessimistic.

Econintersect reminds you that this is a survey (a quantification of opinion). Please see caveats at the end of this post. However, sometimes it is better not to look to deeply into the details of a noisy survey as just the overview is all you need to know.

From the report:

The December 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business activity declined for New York manufacturers. The headline general business conditions index dropped fourteen points to -3.6, its first negative reading in nearly two years. The new orders index also fell into negative territory, tumbling eleven points to -2.0, and the shipments index fell to -0.2. Labor market conditions were mixed, with the index for number of employees holding steady at 8.3, while the average workweek index declined to -11.5. The prices paid index was little changed at 10.4, indicating a continued modest increase in input prices, while the prices received index climbed to 6.3. Indexes for the sixmonth outlook continued to convey optimism, but to a somewhat lesser extent than in recent months.