Manufacturing ISM Report on Business Indicates Growth In Manufacturing for the 18th 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 October for the 17th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 65th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Manufacturing expanded in November as the PMI registered 58.7 percent, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point when compared to October's reading of 59 percent, indicating growth in manufacturing for the 18th consecutive month.

ISM's New Orders Index registered 66 percent in November, an increase of 0.2 percentage point when compared to the 65.8 percent reported in October, indicating growth in new orders for the 18th consecutive month.

ISM's Production Index registered 64.4 percent in November, which is a decrease of 0.4 percentage point when compared to the 64.8 percent reported in October, indicating growth in production for the ninth consecutive month.

ISM's Employment Index registered 54.9 percent in November, which is a decrease of 0.6 percentage point when compared to the 55.5 percent reported in October. This is the 17th consecutive month of growth in employment.

The delivery performance of suppliers to manufacturing organizations slowed in November at a faster rate as the Supplier Deliveries Index registered 56.8 percent. This month's reading is 0.6 percentage point higher than the 56.2 percent reported in October.

The Inventories Index registered 51.5 percent in November, which is 1 percentage point lower than the 52.5 percent registered in October, indicating raw materials inventories are growing for the fourth consecutive month.

ISM's Backlog of Orders Index registered 55 percent in November, which is 2 percentage points higher than the 53 percent reported in October, indicating growth in order backlogs for the second consecutive month. Of the 87 percent of respondents who reported their backlog of orders, 27 percent reported greater backlogs, 17 percent reported smaller backlogs, and 56 percent reported no change from October.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 14 are reporting growth in November in the following order: Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Furniture & Related Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Textile Mills; Printing & Related Support Activities; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Paper Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Machinery; Transportation Equipment; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; and Primary Metals. The only industry reporting contraction in November is Apparel, Leather & Allied Products.

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