Dallas Fed
The Dallas Fed's general business activity index plunged to -20.1 in December from -4.9 in November. This was much worse than the -7.0 expected by economists.
Any reading below 0 signals contraction, and this index has been below 0 all year.
"As one would expect given the plunge in oil prices, the Dallas Fed manufacturing activity index has run in contractionary territory throughout 2015," Wells Fargo's Sam Bullard said ahead of the report.
"The price of oil is really impacting our customer base and, in turn, purchases of our product," said a survey respondent in the fabricated metal products business. "It is getting ugly."
Fortunately, the signs continue to suggest these woes are largely contained to the energy sector and the regional economies most exposed to energy prices.
"Several of our customers have slowed down for different reasons that do not appear to be related to a general slowdown in the economy," said a survey respondent in the machinery manufacturing business.
"Expectations for 2016 and midterm (the next three to five years) are for a low-growth environment," said a respondent in computer and electronic product manufacturing.
The narrative out of Texas also reflects the global economic story, in which the US economy is doing better than the economy abroad.
"The strong dollar and overall weak Latin American economies are impacting our export business," a respondent from the food business said. "Domestic demand is strong, base raw material costs are steady to down, and energy costs are reasonable. 2016 looks good."
So, when you step back and look at it from the national level, it doesn't look too bad. But if you're in Texas, things stink.