SUV parts are fabricated in the stamping facility at the General Motors Assembly Plant on June 9, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said the Chicago Business Barometer came in at 63.9, an ease that still slightly beat the 63.5 consensus forecast. The Chicago PMI has expanded for 21 straight months, three of which at a reading above 60, and is now poised to make 2017 the first full year of expansion in 36 months.
“Despite November’s fall, the MNI Chicago Business Barometer remains on track to deliver the first full year of expansion in three years,” said Jamie Satchi, Economist at MNI Indicators. “Firms seem to have navigated through the worst of the bad weather conditions in recent months, though supplier deliveries rising to a thirteen-year high and persistent, high input costs suggests the effects are yet to fully dissipate away.”
New orders eased in November but remained very strong. Backlogs, which hit a 43-year high in October, also pulled back but also remain strong.
