Updated: 01-Mar-23 10:55 ET

February ISM Manufacturing Index

Updated: 01-Mar-23 10:55 ET

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