Another good PMI for the U.S. Both New Orders and New Export Orders were strong and customer inventories remain low. U.S. manufacturers have obviously regained lost competitiveness given the trend in U.S. new orders and new export orders vs those in Europe and China.
The PMI registered 52.4 percent, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points from January’s reading of 54.1 percent. The New Orders Index registered 54.9 percent, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from January’s reading of 57.6 percent. Prices of raw materials increased for the second consecutive month, with the Prices Index registering 61.5 percent.
New Orders
ISM’s New Orders Index registered 54.9 percent in February, which is a decrease of 2.7 percentage points when compared to the January reading of 57.6 percent.
The 10 industries reporting growth in new orders in February — listed in order — are: Primary Metals; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Machinery; Fabricated Metal Products; Transportation Equipment; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Chemical Products; Paper Products; and Computer & Electronic Products. The four industries reporting decreases in new orders in February are: Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Furniture & Related Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; and Plastics & Rubber Products.
New Export Orders
ISM’s New Export Orders Index registered 59.5 percent in February, which is 4.5 percentage points higher than the 55 percent reported in January.
The 12 industries reporting growth in new export orders in February — listed in order — are: Primary Metals; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Paper Products; Furniture & Related Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Chemical Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Transportation Equipment; Machinery; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components. The only industry reporting a decrease in new export orders during February is Nonmetallic Mineral Products.
Backlog of Orders
ISM’s Backlog of Orders Index registered 52 percent in February, which is 0.5 percentage point lower than the 52.5 percent reported in January.
Customers’ Inventories
The ISM Customers’ Inventories Index registered 46 percent in February, which is 1.5 percentage points lower than in January when the index registered 47.5 percent. Customers’ inventories have registered at or below 50 percent for 35 consecutive months. A reading below 50 percent indicates customers’ inventories are considered too low.
