The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond released its survey of manufacturing activity on Tuesday. The composite index for manufacturing dropped to -5 in September from 0 in August.
The decline was driven by decreases in new orders. New orders subindex was down to -12 from 1.
Shipments subindex rose to -3 in September from -4 in August.
"Order backlogs and new orders decreased, while shipments declined. Average wages continued to increase at a moderate pace this month, however manufacturing employment grew mildly. Prices of raw materials and prices of finished goods rose, although at a slightly slower pace compared to last month," the survey said.