Indexes for general activity, new orders, shipments, and employment all remained positive.

The general activity index increased from a reading of 17.6 in February to 18.9 this month.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve senior economic analyst Mike Trebing said: "Indicators from the March Business Outlook Survey suggest that conditions continued to improve in the region's manufacturing sector.

"Although indicators for new orders and shipments moderated from February, all of the broad indicators remained positive.

"Indicative of improvement, the overall level of employment and average work hours among reporting firms also increased this month.

"Firms expect continued growth over the next six months, and nearly half indicated that they expect their rate of production to accelerate during the second quarter."

Story provided by Business Financial Newswire