Federal Reserve Surveys Reveal Deepening Concerns Among U.S. Manufacturers

Surveys from regional Federal Reserve banks are beginning to reflect mounting anxiety within the U.S. manufacturing sector, as the economic effects of President Trump’s expansive new tariffs ripple across industries, Josh Schafer reported for Yahoo Finance.

The Philadelphia Fed’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey showed general activity plunging to -26 in April—its lowest level since April 2023 and a dramatic drop from 12.5 the previous month. I Photo: Beyond My Ken Wikimedia Commons

The Philadelphia Fed’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey showed general activity plunging to -26 in April—its lowest level since April 2023 and a dramatic drop from 12.5 the previous month.

It was the fourth-largest monthly decline on record, eclipsed only by downturns during the 2008 financial crisis and the early COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile, the “prices paid” index—a key inflation indicator—jumped to 51, its highest since July 2022.

That data followed similarly bleak news from the New York Fed. Its Empire State Manufacturing Survey revealed an improvement in current conditions to -8.1 from -20 in March.

However, the survey’s future general business index tumbled to its second-lowest level in more than two decades of records. The Philly Fed conducted its survey from April 7 to 14, while the New York Fed gathered responses between April 2 and 9.