ISM Purchasing Managers Index Rises to 53.1%

Thirteen of the 18 manufacturing industries covered in the Report showed growth in January. Only Nonmetallic Mineral Products, Computer & Electronic Products, Wood Products and Chemical Products reported contraction for the month.

New orders rose 3.6 percent to 53.3 percent in January after dropping to 49.7 percent in December. Production was up 1.0 percent to 53.6 percent. Employment improved slightly, up 2.1 percent to 54 percent and on a continuous growth trend for the 40th consecutive month.

Supplier Deliveries to manufacturers decreased slightly by 0.1 percent In January, registering at 53.6 percent. Inventories are growing as evidenced by a bounce of 8 percentage points to 51 percent in January from 43 percent reported in December. Customer inventories continue to hover below the healthy 50 mark in January but rose 1.5 percentage points to 48.5 percent for the month from 47 percent in December.

The Price index registered 56.5 with 67 percent of respondents reporting prices remaining the same as the previous month. January showed a 1.0 percent gain over December.

Backlog of orders was 1.0 percent lower in January at 47.5 and the 10th consecutive month of contraction.

January New Exports registered 50.5 percent, 1.0 percent lower than reported in December. January and December were the only months of growth since May 2012 when the index was 53.5 percent. Imports registered 50 percent, slightly lower than the 51.5 percent reported in December.

Lead times increased 4 days to 120 days for Capital Expenditures, 5 days to 59 days for Production Materials, and 3 days to 28 for Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) Supplies.