A measure of New York-area manufacturing conditions turned positive in November for the first time in four months, as respondents reported both rising new orders and shipments.
The Empire Fed index rose 8.3 points to 1.5, on a scale where any reading above zero indicates improving conditions, the New York Fed said Tuesday.
The new-orders index climbed 8.7 points to 3.1, and the shipments index rose 9.1 points to 8.5.
The inventories index fell 11.3 points to -23.6, a multiyear low, indicating that inventory levels declined significantly.
However, the index for number of employees dropped 6.2 points to -10.9, and the average workweek also remained in negative territory.
The Empire State report is the first of many regional manufacturing gauges released ahead of the national Institute for Supply Management survey, which in October was positive for the second month.
Manufacturing output was flat in the 12 months ending September, a separate Federal Reserve report shows.