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Thursday, January 03, 2019

ISM Manufacturing index Decreased Sharply to 54.1 in December

by Calculated Risk on 1/03/2019 10:05:00 AM

The ISM manufacturing index indicated expansion in December. The PMI was at 54.1% in December, down from 59.3% in November. The employment index was at 56.2%, down from 58.4% last month, and the new orders index was at 51.1%, down from 62.1%.

From the Institute for Supply Management: December 2018 Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December, and the overall economy grew for the 116th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® .

The report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee: “The December PMI® registered 54.1 percent, a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from the November reading of 59.3 percent. The New Orders Index registered 51.1 percent, a decrease of 11 percentage points from the November reading of 62.1 percent. The Production Index registered 54.3 percent, 6.3-percentage point decrease compared to the November reading of 60.6 percent. The Employment Index registered 56.2 percent, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from the November reading of 58.4 percent. The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 57.5 percent, a 5-percentage point decrease from the November reading of 62.5 percent. The Inventories Index registered 51.2 percent, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points from the November reading of 52.9 percent. The Prices Index registered 54.9 percent, a 5.8-percentage point decrease from the November reading of 60.7 percent, indicating higher raw materials prices for the 34th consecutive month.
emphasis added
ISM PMIClick on graph for larger image.

Here is a long term graph of the ISM manufacturing index.

This was well below expectations of 58.0%, and suggests manufacturing expanded at a slower pace in December than in November.