By 2 Min ReadFILE PHOTO: On June 29, 2017, a manufacturing line employee works at the AMES Companies factory in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the world’s largest wheelbarrow factory. Factory activity in the United States’ mid-Atlantic region slowed sharply for the third consecutive month to its lowest level since December, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank. Factory activity had reached its highest level in nearly half a century earlier this spring. According to a Reuters poll, experts expected a value of 28.0. Any reading above zero suggests that manufacturing in the region is expanding. The survey covers factories in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware, and is seen as one of the first monthly indicators of the health of U.S. manufacturing ahead of the Institute for Supply Management’s national report, which will be released on August 2.Even though U.S. factory orders rebounded sharply in May, factories are still struggling to keep up with demand as the COVID-19 panda panda panda panda panda panda panda panda panda pan The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing activity measure reached its highest level since 1973 in March. The Philly Fed employment index fell to 29.2 in July from 30.7 in June. Additionally, the price paid index fell to 69.7 in July from 80.7 the month before, after reaching a 42-year high in June./n
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