Philly Fed May Index Plunges to -0.4 as New Orders Collapse From 33.0

1 articles · Updated · investinglive.com · May 21

The Philadelphia Fed’s May manufacturing index fell to -0.4 from 26.7, far below the 18.0 forecast and signaling regional factory activity slipped back into contraction.
New orders dropped to -1.7 from 33.0 and shipments to 4.9 from 34.0, while delivery times turned sharply negative at -10.4, pointing to a broad loss of momentum.
Employment improved to -2.8 from -5.1 but stayed below zero, indicating payrolls still shrank overall; the average workweek also cooled to 1.2 from 7.7.
Price pressures eased only modestly, with prices paid at 47.9 versus 59.3 and prices received at 26.3 versus 33.5, both still elevated.
Six-month expectations remained strong despite the current slump: the future activity index rose to 53.2 from 40.8 and future new orders climbed to 53.5 from 45.7.

With current orders collapsing, why are manufacturers so optimistic about the next six months?

Why is Northeast manufacturing faltering while the national sector expands, signaling a potential economic shift?

Is America's industrial growth a data center boom, not the heralded return of traditional manufacturing?