April 2019 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business Has Five Industries Reporting Contraction

The Manufacturing ISM Report On Business is published monthly by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the largest supply management organization in the world, as well as one of the most respected.  Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April, and the overall economy grew for the 120th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Manufacturing expanded in April, as the PMI registered 52.8 percent, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the March reading of 55.3 percent.  This indicates growth in manufacturing for the 32nd consecutive month.

ISM's New Orders Index registered 51.7 percent in April, which is a decrease of 5.7 percentage points when compared to the 57.4 percent reported for March, indicating growth in new orders for the 40th consecutive month.

ISM's Production Index registered 52.3 percent in April, which is a decrease of 3.5 percentage points when compared to the 55.8 percent reported for March, indicating growth in production for the 32nd consecutive month.

ISM's Employment Index registered 52.4 percent in April, a decrease of 5.1 percentage points when compared to the March reading of 57.5 percent.  This indicates growth in employment in April for the 31st consecutive month.

The delivery performance of suppliers to manufacturing organizations slowed in April, as the Supplier Deliveries Index registered 54.6 percent.  This is 0.4 percentage point higher than the 54.2 percent reported for March and the 38th straight month of slowing supplier deliveries,

The Inventories Index registered 52.9 percent in April, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the 51.8 percent reported for March.  Inventories expanded for the 16th consecutive month and at marginally higher rates compared to the previous month.

ISM's Backlog of Orders Index registered 53.9 percent in April, which is 3.5 percentage points higher than the 50.4 percent reported in March, indicating order backlogs grew for the month.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 13 reported growth in April, in the following order: Textile Mills; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Printing & Related Support Activities; Chemical Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Machinery; Furniture & Related Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Paper Products; and Fabricated Metal Products.  The five industries reporting contraction in April are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Primary Metals; Wood Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; and Transportation Equipment.