The Institute for Supply Management   Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped to 48.6 in November from an October reading of 50.1. The reading, below 50% indicates contraction. This month’s reading  was the lowest since the end of the Great Recession in June 2009.

Manufacturing contracts for first time since
Manufacturing contracts for first time since

The employment index was at 51.3%, up from 47.6% in October, and the new orders index was at 48.9%, down from 52.9%.

The only good news for manufacturing in the ISM release was Manufacturing Employment and Raw Material prices:

  • Employment Index registered 51.3 percent, 3.7 percentage points above the October reading of 47.6 percent.
  • The Prices Index registered 35.5 percent, a decrease of 3.5 percentage points from the October reading of 39 percent, indicating lower raw materials prices for the 13th consecutive month.

Among the manufacturing markets that contracted in November according to the ISM report:

  • Fabricated Metal Products
  • Machinery
  • Primary Metals
  • Electrical Equipment
  • Appliances & Components
  • Computer & Electronic Products

The PMPA’s Business Trends Report for October came in at 119 for October – down two points from last month’s 121, down 12 points from October 2014’s record of 131, and interestingly, exactly the same value as the average for October for the past five years – 118.8 or 119. Our report also showed expectations for employment leveling off in October.

PMPA October 2015 Business Trends Report

Graph Courtesy Calculated Risk Blog

11 industries reported expansion in February. The Precision Machined Products Industry, a sub industry of Fabricated Metals, serves 7 of these  industries showing the greatest recovery.
Here are the sectors that reported expansion that precision machining serves:

  1. Machinery; 
  2. Computer & Electronic Products;
  3. Miscellaneous Manufacturing;
  4. Transportation Equipment;
  5. Electrical Equipment;
  6. Appliances & Components;
  7. Fabricated Metal Products;

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the seventh consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 10th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.
The PMI index for February was 56.5 down 1.9 percentage points from January. Because the PMI is above 50, the manufacturing economy is expanding.

How can they run out of vanilla?

According to ISM  steel, stainless steel, and aluminum are increasing in price.
Anecdotal data from our conversations with members confirms the ISM numbers, and points out that the metals named above are both more expensive and in short supply.
You know business is improving when they are out of plain vanilla.
Photocredit.
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