PHILADELPHIA, PA—Firms responding to theManufacturing Business Outlook Survey from theFederal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia say the paceof regional manufacturing activity remained positive but decreasedin December. The survey's current indicators for general activity,new orders, shipments, and employment suggest growth; however,their values for this month were significantly lower than lastmonth's. The survey's indicators of future activity show optimismabout continued growth over the next six months but declinedslightly from last month's readings.

Indicators Suggest Reduced Activity

The survey's broadest measure of manufacturing conditions, thediffusion index of current activity, decreased 16 points, from areading of 40.8 in November to 24.5 this month. The new orders andcurrent shipments indexes also weakened significantly. The demandfor manufactured goods, as measured by the current new ordersindex, decreased 20 points, from a reading of 35.7 last month to15.7 this month. Shipments also fell, with its index falling 16points to 16.1. Despite these declines from November, all the broadcurrent activity indexes show a positive trend over the course ofthe current year.