The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported Monday that economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April for the 21st consecutive month.
The ISM's manufacturing index, the PMI, registered 60.4 percent in April-down 0.8 percent from March's PMI of 61.2 (any reading over 50 signifies growth). Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 17 reported growth in April, including primary metals, transportation equipment and fabricated equipment. Primary metals were also the most imported material by manufacturers in April according to the ISM.
ISM's new orders index registered 61.7 in April, a 1.6 percent decrease over March, but still the 22nd consecutive month of growth in new orders. ISM's production index fell 5.2 percent from March to 63.8 percent in April. Nonetheless, ISM's production index has exceeded 60 for four consecutive months, the best performance since 2004.