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Manufacturing activity in the New York region contracted at a faster pace this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.

The regional Fed’s “Empire State Index,” generally the fist economic indicator in a given month, fell to a reading of negative 9.4, from negative 4.6 last month, the regional Fed said.

Economists had forecast an unchanged reading of negative 4.6, Bloomberg reported. Readings above zero indicate expansion, while below that show contraction.

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