Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP
Economists estimate this regional activity index jumped to 6.0 in May from 1.29 in April.
"While the new orders index has printed in contractionary territory in four of the past six months, the headline index has averaged 4.5 over that time, and we expect a pickup in activity in the coming months, in line with overall GDP growth," said Barclays economists who forecast a 4.0 level.