The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond released its survey of manufacturing activity on Tuesday. The composite index for manufacturing dropped to -1 in May from 14 in April. The decrease was mainly driven by drops in shipments, backlogs and new orders.

Shipments sub-index slid to -8 in May from 14 in April, while new orders sub-index was down to 0 from 18.

The employment sub-index declined to 4 in May from 8 in April, while backlogs fell by 24 points to −13.

"Fifth District manufacturing activity slowed in May, according to the most recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Shipments and backlogs decreased, and order backlogs flattened this month," the survey said.