US Mfg Activity Slows in August
ARLINGTON, VA -- US manufacturing activity contracted in August for the third time since July 2009 despite growth in the overall economy.
The report, issued today by the Institute for Supply Management, found the PMI index fell 20 basis points to 49.6% from July, indicating contraction in the manufacturing sector for the third consecutive month.
It was the lowest reading for the PMI since July 2009.
The New Orders Index fell 90 basis points to 47.1%, indicating contraction in new orders for the third consecutive month. The Production Index was 47.2%, down 4.1 percentage points and indicating contraction in production for the first time since May 2009. The Employment Index remained in growth territory at 51.6%, but registered its lowest reading since November 2009 (51%). The Prices Index increased 14.5 percentage points from July to 54%.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, Computer & Electronic Products was among those reporting contraction for the month.
| Manufacturing at a Glance, August 2012 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Index | Series Index Aug | Series Index Jul | Percentage Point Change | Direction | Rate of Change | Trend* (Months) |
| PMI | 49.6 | 49.8 | -0.2 | Contracting | Faster | 3 |
| New Orders | 47.1 | 48.0 | -0.9 | Contracting | Faster | 3 |
| Production | 47.2 | 51.3 | -4.1 | Contracting | From Growing | 1 |
| Employment | 51.6 | 52.0 | -0.4 | Growing | Slower | 35 |
| Supplier Deliveries | 49.3 | 48.7 | +0.6 | Faster | Slower | 7 |
| Inventories | 53.0 | 49.0 | +4.0 | Growing | From Contracting | 1 |
| Customers' Inventories | 49.0 | 49.5 | -0.5 | Too Low | Faster | 9 |
| Prices | 54.0 | 39.5 | +14.5 | Increasing | From Decreasing | 1 |
| Backlog of Orders | 42.5 | 43.0 | -0.5 | Contracting | Faster | 5 |
| Exports | 47.0 | 46.5 | +0.5 | Contracting | Slower | 3 |
| Imports | 49.0 | 50.5 | -1.5 | Contracting | From Growing | 1 |
| OVERALL ECONOMY | Growing | Slower | 39 | |||
| Manufacturing Sector | Contracting | Faster | 3 | |||
