Economy

ISM: Manufacturing Sector Barely Expanded in April, Missing Expectations

The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Report On Business Survey. (Photo: REUTERS)

The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of factory activity fell to 50.8 in April from 51.8 in March, missing economists expectations for a slight decline to 51.4. Readings above 50 point to expansion, while those below indicate contraction.

Though economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded for the second consecutive month, it compares to 83-straight months of growth in the overall economy. The decline in the manufacturing sector since the Great Recession has contributed to stagnant wages, as the sector offers considerably higher paying jobs.

MANUFACTURING AT A GLANCE APRIL 2016
Index	Series Index Apr	Series Index Mar	Percentage Point Change	Direction	Rate of Change	Trend* (Months)
PMI^®	50.8	51.8	-1.0	Growing	Slower	2
New Orders	55.8	58.3	-2.5	Growing	Slower	4
Production	54.2	55.3	-1.1	Growing	Slower	4
Employment	49.2	48.1	+1.1	Contracting	Slower	5
Supplier Deliveries	49.1	50.2	-1.1	Faster	From Slower	1
Inventories	45.5	47.0	-1.5	Contracting	Faster	10
Customers’ Inventories	46.0	49.0	-3.0	Too Low	Faster	3
Prices	59.0	51.5	+7.5	Increasing	Faster	2
Backlog of Orders	50.5	51.0	-0.5	Growing	Slower	2
Exports	52.5	52.0	+0.5	Growing	Faster	2
Imports	50.0	49.5	+0.5	Unchanged	From Contracting	1
OVERALL ECONOMY				Growing	Slower	83
Manufacturing Sector				Growing	Slower	2

Manufacturing ISM^® Report On Business^® data is seasonally adjusted for New Orders, Production, Employment and Supplier Deliveries indexes.

*Number of months moving in current direction.

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PPD Business Staff

PPD Business, the economy-reporting arm of People's Pundit Daily, is "making sense of current events." We are a no-holds barred, news reporting pundit of, by, and for the people.