February Manufacturing ISM Report On Business Indicates growth in Manufacturing for the 26th Consecutive Month

The Manufacturing ISM Report On Business is published monthly by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the largest supply management organization in the world, as well as one of the most respected. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the 26th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 69th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Manufacturing expanded in February as the PMI registered 52.9 percent, a decrease of 0.6 percentage point when compared to January's reading of 53.5 percent, indicating growth in manufacturing for the 26th consecutive month.

ISM's New Orders Index registered 52.5 percent in February, a decrease of 0.4 percentage point when compared to the January reading of 52.9 percent, indicating growth in new orders for the 27th consecutive month.

ISM's Production Index registered 53.7 percent in February, which is a decrease of 2.8 percentage points when compared to the 56.5 percent reported in January, indicating growth in production for the 30th consecutive month.

ISM's Employment Index registered 51.4 percent in February, which is a decrease of 2.7 percentage points when compared to the 54.1 percent reported in January. This is the 21st consecutive month of growth in employment.

The delivery performance of suppliers to manufacturing organizations slowed in February at a faster rate as the Supplier Deliveries Index registered 54.3 percent. This month's reading is 1.4 percentage points higher than the 52.9 percent reported in January.

The Inventories Index registered 52.5 percent in February, which is 1.5 percentage points higher than the 51 percent registered in January, indicating raw materials inventories are growing for the second consecutive month.

ISM's Backlog of Orders Index registered 51.5 percent in February, which is 5.5 percentage points higher than the 46 percent reported in January, indicating expansion in order backlogs following one month of contraction in order backlogs. Of the 86 percent of respondents who reported their backlog of orders, 23 percent reported greater backlogs, 20 percent reported smaller backlogs, and 57 percent reported no change from January.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 12 are reporting growth in February in the following order: Paper Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Furniture & Related Products; Primary Metals; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Fabricated Metal Products; Machinery; Transportation Equipment; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; and Chemical Products. The three industries reporting contraction in February are: Textile Mills; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; and Computer & Electronic Products.

Keywords: Automation, Manufacturing, Process Industries, Discrete Industries, Supply Management, PMI, ISM, ARC Advisory Group.