Economic activity declined in manufacturing for the 16th consecutive month, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The report was issued by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
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The manufacturing PMIâ registered 47.8% in February, a decline of 1.3 percentage points from January. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 46th month after one month of contraction in April 2020. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 42.5%, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.)
- The New Orders Index moved back into contraction territory at 49.2%, 3.3 percentage points lower than the 52.5% recorded in January.
- The Production Index (48.4%) is 2 percentage points lower than January’s figure of 50.4%.
- The Prices Index registered 52.5%, down 0.4 percentage point compared to the reading of 52.9% in January.
- The Backlog of Orders Index registered 46.3%, 1.6 percentage points higher than the 44.7% recorded in January.
- The Employment Index registered 45.9%, down 1.2 percentage points from January’s figure of 47.1%.
- The Supplier Deliveries Index figure of 50.1% is 1 percentage point higher than the 49.1% recorded in January. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM®Report On Business® index that is inversed; a reading of above 50% indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand increases.)
- The Inventories Index decreased 0.9 percentage point to 45.3% from January’s reading of 46.2%.
- The New Export Orders Index reading of 51.6% is 6.4 percentage points higher than January’s figure of 45.2%.
- The Imports Index continued in expansion territory, registering 53%, 2.9 percentage points higher than the 50.1% reported in January.
- Both indexes reported their highest readings since July 2022, when the New Export Orders Index registered 52.6% and the Imports Index 54.4%.
The eight manufacturing industries reporting growth in February — in order — are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Primary Metals; Plastics & Rubber Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Chemical Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Transportation Equipment.
The seven industries reporting contraction in February — in the following order — are: Furniture & Related Products; Machinery; Wood Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Paper Products; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components.
