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Manufacturing activity in the New York region contracted the least since August this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Friday.

The regional Fed’s “Empire State Index,” generally the first economic indicator in a given month, rose to a reading of negative 4.6, from a negative 14.7 reading last month, the Fed said.

The reading was higher than economists’ forecasts of a negative 12 reading, Bloomberg reported. Readings above zero indicate expansion, while below that show contraction.

Manufacturing is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.