Feb. 6, 2013
Manufacturing Activity Expands in January
The PMI registered 53.1 percent in January, reflecting an expansion of economic activity in the manufacturing sector for the second consecutive month, according to the latest ISM Report on Business from the Institute for Supply Management, Tempe, Ariz. The January reading was an increase of 2.9 percentage points from December.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 13 reported growth in January, including fabricated metal products, machinery, primary metals and miscellaneous manufacturing.
The January PMI indicates growth for the 44th consecutive month in the overall economy. The January PMI corresponds to a 3.4 percent increase in GDP on an annualized basis, says Bradley J. Holcomb, chairman of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
ISM's New Orders Index registered 53.3 percent, an increase of 3.6 percent over December's seasonally adjusted reading of 49.7 percent, indicating growth in new orders. "Manufacturing is starting out the year on a positive note, with all five of the PMI's component indexes—new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and inventories—registering above 50 percent in January," Holcomb says.
ISM's Production Index registered 53.6 percent in January, an increase of 1 percentage point compared to December. ISM's Employment Index registered 54 percent in January, 2.1 percentage points higher than the previous month, indicating growth in employment for the 40th consecutive month.