Manufacturing indicators stay positive

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 01 Oct 2003 15:56

While jobs continue to evaporate, other numbers released today nevertheless show growth.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in September for the third consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 23rd consecutive month, according to the latest Manufacturing Report On Business from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

"The manufacturing sector continued to improve for the third consecutive month as new orders and production show evidence of a stronger economy in September," said ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee chair Norbert J. Ore. "Both of these indices have grown over the past five months, which is very encouraging considering the challenges that the economy has faced in the last two years."

ISM's PMI was 53.7 percent in September, a decrease of 1 percentage point compared to 54.7 in August. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.

A PMI in excess of 42.9 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. The September PMI indicates that both the overall economy and the manufacturing sector are grow.

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