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.
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
