Economic activity in the US manufacturing sector expanded in March, and the overall economy grew for the 94th consecutive month, according to the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
The March PMI registered 57.2 percent, a decrease of 0.5 percentage point from the February reading of 57.7 percent. Regarding specific indexes:
• The New Orders Index registered 64.5 percent, a decrease of 0.6 percentage point from the February reading of 65.1 percent.
• The Production Index registered 57.6 percent, 5.3 percentage points lower than the February reading of 62.9 percent.
• The Employment Index registered 58.9 percent, an increase of 4.7 percentage points from the February reading of 54.2 percent.
• Inventories of raw materials registered 49 percent, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the February reading of 51.5 percent.
• The Prices Index registered 70.5 percent in March, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from the February reading of 68 percent, indicating higher raw materials prices for the 13th consecutive month.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 17 reported growth in March in the following order: electrical equipment, appliances and components; printing and related support activities; furniture and related products; textile mills; machinery; primary metals; miscellaneous manufacturing; wood products; nonmetallic mineral products; plastics and rubber products; paper products; transportation equipment; chemical products; computer and electronic products; food, beverage and tobacco products; fabricated metal products; and petroleum and coal products.