March 2019 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business Reports Manufacturing Continues to Grow

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 March, and the overall economy grew for the 119th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Manufacturing expanded in March, as the PMI registered 55.3 percent, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the February reading of 54.2 percent, and that indicates growth in manufacturing for the 31st consecutive month.

ISM’s New Orders Index registered 57.4 percent in March, which is an increase of 1.9 percentage points when compared to the 55.5 percent reported for February, indicating growth in new orders for the 39th consecutive month.

ISM’s Production Index registered 55.8 percent in March, which is an increase of 1 percentage point when compared to the 54.8 percent reported for February, indicating growth in production for the 31st consecutive month.

ISM’s Employment Index registered 57.5 percent in March, an increase of 5.2 percentage points when compared to the February reading of 52.3 percent.  This indicates growth in employment in March for the 30th consecutive month.

The delivery performance of suppliers to manufacturing organizations slowed in March, as the Supplier Deliveries Index registered 54.2 percent. This is 0.7 percentage point lower than the 54.9 percent reported for February and is the 37th straight month of slowing supplier deliveries.

The Inventories Index registered 51.8 percent in March, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the 53.4 percent reported for February.  Inventories expanded for the 15th consecutive month, but at a slower rate than the previous month.

ISM’s Backlog of Orders Index registered 50.4 percent in March, which is 1.9 percentage points lower than the 52.3 percent reported in February, indicating order backlogs grew for the month.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 16 reported growth in March, in the following order: Printing and Related Support Activities; Textile Mills; Food, Beverage and Tobacco Products; Petroleum and Coal Products; Computer and Electronic Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances and Components; Furniture and Related Products; Chemical Products; Plastics and Rubber Products; Wood Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Transportation Equipment; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Fabricated Metal Products; Primary Metals; and Machinery.  The two industries reporting contraction in March are: Apparel, Leather and Allied Products; and Paper Products.