ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

September 21, 2006 12:00 PM, EDT

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

anufacturing growth in the Philadelphia area contracted in September as new orders fell, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The area’s economic index dropped to minus 0.4 from 18.5 last month, Bloomberg reported. The index was expected to fall to 14.

Meanwhile, new orders fell to minus 1.3 in August from 15.7 last month. The factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.

Index readings greater than zero mean that a higher percentage of manufacturers surveyed reported an improvement in business conditions; below zero means they reported deterioration.

The Philadelphia Fed surveys about 100 manufacturers for the index in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey.