Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey Falls to 20.9 From 37.8

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey came in at 20.9 on October 1, 2026, 16.9 points below the prior reading of 37.8. On a diffusion index the sign is the signal: above zero means more respondents reporting expansion than contraction, and the distance from zero is how lopsided the split is.

• October 1, 2026: 20.9
• prior (September 1, 2026): 37.8
• change: -16.9 pts

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey has ranged from -10.1 (October 1, 2025) to 47.4 (August 1, 2026) over the archived window, which puts the current reading 54% of the way up that range.

Survey readings are noisy month to month, so the standing trend matters more than any single print: this series has been rising across recent readings. Source: Federal Reserve district surveys via FRED.