Economy

ISM Report on Business: U.S. Manufacturing Activity Increases in December

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

The ISM Report on Business, the Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of factory activity nationwide, rose to 54.7 in December from 53.2 in November. Economists expected an increase to 53.6 for the month.

Readings above 50 point to expansion, while those below indicate contraction.

“The New Orders Index registered 60.2 percent, an increase of 7.2 percentage points from the November reading of 53 percent,” Bradley J. Holcomb, chair of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “The Production Index registered 60.3 percent, 4.3 percentage points higher than the November reading of 56 percent.”

Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 11 are reporting growth in December in the following order: Petroleum & Coal Products; Primary Metals; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Paper Products; Machinery; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Computer & Electronic Products; Fabricated Metal Products; and Chemical Products.

“The Employment Index registered 53.1 percent, an increase of 0.8 percentage point from the November reading of 52.3 percent,” Mr. Holcomb added. “Inventories of raw materials registered 47 percent, a decrease of 2 percentage points from the November reading of 49 percent.”

The six industries reporting contraction in December — listed in order — are: Plastics & Rubber Products; Furniture & Related Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Textile Mills; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; and Transportation Equipment.

MANUFACTURING AT A GLANCE December 2016
Index	Series Index Dec	Series Index Nov	Percentage Point Change	Direction	Rate of Change	Trend* (Months)
PMI^®	54.7	53.2	+1.5	Growing	Faster	4
New Orders	60.2	53.0	+7.2	Growing	Faster	4
Production	60.3	56.0	+4.3	Growing	Faster	4
Employment	53.1	52.3	+0.8	Growing	Faster	3
Supplier Deliveries	52.9	55.7	-2.8	Slowing	Slower	8
Inventories	47.0	49.0	-2.0	Contracting	Faster	18
Customers’ Inventories	49.0	49.0	0.0	Too Low	Same	3
Prices	65.5	54.5	+11.0	Increasing	Faster	10
Backlog of Orders	49.0	49.0	0.0	Contracting	Same	6
New Export Orders	56.0	52.0	+4.0	Growing	Faster	10
Imports	50.5	50.5	0.0	Growing	Same	3
OVERALL ECONOMY Manufacturing Sector				Growing	Faster	91
OVERALL ECONOMY Manufacturing Sector				Growing	Faster	4

Manufacturing ISM^® Report On Business^® data is seasonally adjusted for the 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.