The Federal Reserve’s Fifth District manufacturing index declined to -10 in February 2025 from -6 in January, marking its lowest level in three months and undershooting forecasts for an improvement to -4. This was the twelfth consecutive negative reading, consistent with downbeat signals from other U.S. regions as tariffs, together with higher producer inflation, further weakened sentiment among goods producers.
Shipments fell more sharply (0.13 vs. 0.5 in January), and new orders declined further (-9 vs. -6), even as firms continued to work through their order backlogs (-15 vs. -13). Meanwhile, prices paid remained elevated, though their rate of increase eased compared with the previous month (6.25 vs. 7.06).
