ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

May 16, 2005 8:45 AM, EDT

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

anufacturing in New York state contracted for the first time in two years, according to a monthly survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released Monday.

The Empire State index dropped to negative 11.1, from a revised 2 in April. Economists’ had forecast a rise to 11.7, Bloomberg reported. In February 2004, the index reached a record high of 39.6.

Manufacturing is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers. Readings above zero indicate expansion, and the survey had shown growth since May 2003.

The survey’s new orders index fell to minus 7.1, also the lowest in two years, from minus 1.2. The index of New York manufacturers expecting to hire more workers over the next six months rose to 22.1 from 21.5 in April.