The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Report On Business Survey. (Photo: REUTERS)
The Manufacturing Report on Business, a closely watched gauge by the Institute for Supply Management, finds regional activity contracted in January. The survey marks the third-straight month of contraction for the U.S. manufacturing sector, though regional data has slumped for longer.
Economists polled by Reuters forecast the Institute for Supply Management’s PMI gauge to have fallen to 48 in January from a December reading of 48.2.
“The January PMI registered 48.2 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the seasonally adjusted December reading of 48 percent,” said Bradley J. Holcomb, chair of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “The New Orders Index registered 51.5 percent, an increase of 2.7 percentage points from the seasonally adjusted reading of 48.8 percent in December. The Production Index registered 50.2 percent, 0.3 percentage point higher than the seasonally adjusted December reading of 49.9 percent. The Employment Index registered 45.9 percent, 2.1 percentage points below the seasonally adjusted December reading of 48 percent. Inventories of raw materials registered 43.5 percent, the same reading as in December. The Prices Index registered 33.5 percent, the same reading as in December, indicating lower raw materials prices for the 15th consecutive month. Comments from the panel indicate a mix ranging from strong to soft orders, as eight of our 18 industries report an increase in orders, and seven industries report a decrease in orders.”
The ISM’s Manufacturing Report On Business is based on data compiled from purchasing and supply executives nationwide.
| MANUFACTURING AT A GLANCE JANUARY 2016 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Series Index Jan |
Series Index Dec |
Percentage Point Change |
Direction | Rate of Change |
Trend* (Months) |
| PMI® | 48.2 | 48.0 | +0.2 | Contracting | Slower | 4 |
| New Orders | 51.5 | 48.8 | +2.7 | Growing | From Contracting |
1 |
| Production | 50.2 | 49.9 | +0.3 | Growing | From Contracting |
1 |
| Employment | 45.9 | 48.0 | -2.1 | Contracting | Faster | 2 |
| Supplier Deliveries | 50.0 | 49.8 | +0.2 | Unchanged | From Faster |
1 |
| Inventories | 43.5 | 43.5 | 0.0 | Contracting | Same | 7 |
| Customers’ Inventories | 51.5 | 51.5 | 0.0 | Too High | Same | 6 |
| Prices | 33.5 | 33.5 | 0.0 | Decreasing | Same | 15 |
| Backlog of Orders | 43.0 | 41.0 | +2.0 | Contracting | Slower | 8 |
| Exports | 47.0 | 51.0 | -4.0 | Contracting | From Growing |
1 |
| Imports | 51.0 | 45.5 | +5.5 | Growing | From Contracting |
1 |
| OVERALL ECONOMY | Growing | Faster | 80 | |||
| Manufacturing Sector | Contracting | Slower | 4 | |||
Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® data is seasonally adjusted for New Orders, Production, Employment and Supplier Deliveries indexes.
*Number of months moving in current direction.
Indexes reflect newly released seasonal adjustment factors
