ISM Manufacturing Index Down 0.8 Points to 60.4 – Index Above 60 for 4 Consecutive Months

The Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing Index fell back slightly by 0.8 points in April to 60.4. Any value over 50 indicates growth in the manufacturing sector, so despite the modest decline, the index value is still very strong. As manufacturing activity had been very active and a driver of the economic recovery, some cooling has been expected and this decline is not a major sign of concern.

This is the second consecutive monthly decline as activity in many components cooled in April. Production eased from 69.0 to 63.8 and employment registered a slight decline of 0.3 points to 62.7.

New orders fell to 61.7 while inventories rose from 47.4 to 53.6. The gap between these two readings, an indicator of future production, narrowed from 15.9 in March to 8.1 in April, the narrowest reading since November.



Source: Institute for Supply Management