March 2018 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business Shows 17 of the 18 Manufacturing Industries Reported Growth

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 industries expanded in March, and the overall economy grew for the 107th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Manufacturing expanded in March as the PMI registered 59.3 percent, which indicates strong growth in manufacturing for the 19th consecutive month. This is a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the February reading of 60.8 percent.

ISM’s New Orders Index registered 61.9 percent in March, which is a decrease of 2.3 percentage points when compared to the 64.2 percent reported for February, indicating growth in new orders for the 27th consecutive month.

ISM’s Production Index registered 61 percent in March, which is a decrease of 1 percentage point when compared to the 62 percent reported for February, indicating growth in production for the 19th consecutive month.

ISM’s Employment Index registered 57.3 percent in March, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points when compared to the February reading of 59.7 percent.  This indicates growth in employment in March for the 18th consecutive month.

The delivery performance of suppliers to manufacturing organizations was slower in March, as the Supplier Deliveries Index registered 60.6 percent. This is 0.5 percentage point lower than the 61.1 percent reported for February.  This is the 18th straight month of slowing supplier deliveries.

The Inventories Index registered 55.5 percent in March, which is a decrease of 1.2 percentage points when compared to the 56.7 percent reported for February, indicating raw materials inventories grew in March.

The ISM Prices Index registered 78.1 percent in March, an increase of 3.9 percentage points from the February level of 74.2 percent, indicating an increase in raw materials prices for the 25th consecutive month.  In March, 57.1 percent of respondents reported paying higher prices, 0.8 percent reported paying lower prices, and 42.1 percent of supply executives reported paying the same prices as in February.

ISM’s Backlog of Orders Index registered 59.8 percent in March, which is the same as reported in February, indicating growth in order backlogs for the 14th consecutive month.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 17 reported growth in March, in the following order: Fabricated Metal Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Paper Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Transportation Equipment; Petroleum & Coal Products; Wood Products; Machinery; Chemical Products; Textile Mills; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Furniture & Related Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Primary Metals.  The only industry reporting a decrease during the period is Apparel, Leather & Allied Products.