Updated: 01-Mar-23 10:55 ET
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Updated: 01-Mar-23 10:55 ET |
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Highlights
- The February ISM Manufacturing Index increased to 47.7% (Briefing.com consensus 47.8%) from 47.4% in January.
- The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the sub-50.0% reading for February reflects a general contraction in manufacturing activity for the fourth straight month.
Key Factors
- The New Orders Index increased to 47.0% from 42.5%.
- The Prices Index jumped to 51.3% from 44.5%.
- The Backlog of Orders Index increased to 45.1% from 43.4%.
- The Supplier Deliveries Index dipped to 45.2% from 45.6%.
- The Production Index fell to 47.3% from 48.0%.
- The New Export Orders Index rose to 49.9% from 49.4%.
- The Employment Index dropped to 49.1% from 50.6%.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing activity continued to contract in February, albeit at a slightly slower pace, yet it did so against a backdrop of prices increasing for the first time in four months in a move that will keep the Fed with a tightening bias.
Category |
FEB |
JAN |
DEC |
NOV |
OCT |
Total Index |
47.7 |
47.4 |
48.4 |
49.0 |
50.2 |
Orders |
47.0 |
42.5 |
45.2 |
47.2 |
49.2 |
Production |
47.3 |
48.0 |
48.5 |
51.5 |
52.3 |
Employment |
49.1 |
50.6 |
50.8 |
48.4 |
50.0 |
Deliveries |
45.2 |
45.6 |
45.1 |
47.2 |
46.8 |
Inventories |
50.1 |
50.2 |
52.3 |
50.9 |
52.5 |
Export Orders |
49.9 |
49.4 |
46.2 |
48.4 |
46.5 |
Prices paid (not seas adj) |
51.3 |
44.5 |
39.4 |
43.0 |
46.6 |