The Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 53.1 percent in January, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from December's seasonally adjusted reading of 50.2 percent, indicating expansion in US manufacturing for the second consecutive month.
The 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. The production index was 53.6 percent in January, up 1 percent from 52.6 percent in December. Manufacturing started 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.