There is clear and strong evidence that the factory sector is expanding solidly,
Some of the December strength and January weakness appears to be related to Y2K precautions; the (Federal Open Market Committee) will need a lot more evidence of a slowdown in consumer spending than this to convince them that further tightening is not warranted,
These data provide additional evidence that a soft-landing scenario is beginning to unfold, much to the (Federal Open Market Committee's) delight.
These data add to the growing evidence that economic activity has slowed and that any re-acceleration is likely to be short-lived.
It's unclear whether the declines are related to year-end concerns or to a more general softening in manufacturing activity, but they do add evidence to the (Fed's) forecast for slower growth going forward.