Economic activity in the manufacturing sector continued its decline in August, marking the fifth consecutive month of contraction and the 21st time in the past 22 months, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
Timothy R. Fiore, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, stated in the report:
"The Manufacturing PMI® registered 47.2 percent in August, a slight increase of 0.4 percentage point from July’s 46.8 percent. Despite the downturn in manufacturing, the overall economy has remained in expansion mode for the 52nd straight month, following a single contraction in April 2020. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 42.5 percent over time generally signals overall economic growth.) New orders continued to contract, with the New Orders Index at 44.6 percent, down 2.8 percentage points from July's 47.4 percent. Similarly, the Production Index fell to 44.8 percent, 1.1 percentage points below July’s figure of 45.9 percent. On the other hand, the Prices Index increased to 54 percent, up 1.1 percentage points from July’s 52.9 percent. The Backlog of Orders Index rose to 43.6 percent, a 1.9 percentage point improvement from July’s 41.7 percent. Employment also showed improvement, with the Employment Index climbing to 46 percent, a rise of 2.6 percentage points from July’s 43.4 percent.
The Supplier Deliveries Index, which measures delivery slowdowns, indicated a reduction, registering 50.5 percent, 2.1 percentage points below July’s 52.6 percent. (In this index, a reading above 50 percent reflects slower deliveries, typically associated with economic improvement and rising demand.) The Inventories Index showed a rise, reaching 50.3 percent, up 5.8 percentage points from July’s 44.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the New Export Orders Index dropped slightly to 48.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage point from July’s 49 percent. The Imports Index, though still contracting, increased to 49.6 percent, 1 percentage point higher than July’s 48.6 percent."
