Philly Fed manufacturing index sees big plunge in March

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index in March plunged to -12.7 after registering 36.7 in the previous month. That’s the lowest reading since June 2012.

Any reading below zero indicates worsening conditions. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 8 reading.

What happened: The headline index is based on a single stand along question about business conditions unlike the manufacturing index which is a composite based on components
In March, the components moved in a similar direction, with the new-orders index falling to - 15.5 from 33.6. The shipments index fell 25 points to 0.2.

The big picture: A similar survey conducted by the New York Fed saw sentiment saw a record decline to -21.5 in March. Economists think the manufacturing sector will be hit hard by the coronavirus shutdown of economic activity.