Posted February 1, 2010
ISM Survey: Manufacturing expands for sixth month
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January for the sixth consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the ninth consecutive month.
The latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business indicates manufacturing is leading the nation's economic recovery..
"The PMI rose to 58.4 percent, its highest reading since August 2004 when it registered 58.5 percent. This month's report provides significant assurance that the manufacturing sector is in recovery," said Norbert J. Ore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Both the New Orders and Production Indexes are above 60 percent, indicating strong current and future performance for manufacturing. This month, 13 of 18 industries reported growth, up from nine industries last month, and this is a good indication that the impact of the recovery is expanding."
The PMI registered 58.4 percent, an increase of 3.5 percentage points when compared to December's seasonally adjusted reading of 54.9 percent. Prior to this recent growth trend, the PMI declined for 13 consecutive months. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.
ISM's New Orders Index registered 65.9 percent in January, 1.1 percentage points higher than the seasonally adjusted 64.8 percent registered in December. This is the seventh consecutive month of growth in the New Orders Index. A New Orders Index above 50.2 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Census Bureau's series on manufacturing orders (in constant 2000 dollars).
