ISM Report on Business: Orders Rise Despite Supply Struggles

New orders, production and employment grew in July despite a deceleration is supplier deliveries and growing backlogs, said the Institute for Supply Management in the July 2021 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI fell 1.1 percentage points in July to 59.5%, still above 50% and indicating expansion in the overall economy for the 14th consecutive month after contracting in April 2020.

“Manufacturing performed well for the 14th straight month, with demand, consumption and inputs registering growth compared to June. Panelists’ companies and their supply chains continue to struggle to respond to strong demand due to difficulties in hiring and retaining direct labor,” said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Comments indicate slight improvements in labor, and supplier deliveries offset by continued problems in the transportation sector. High backlog levels, too low customers’ inventories and near-record raw materials lead times continue to be reported. Labor challenges across the entire value chain and transportation inefficiencies are the major obstacles to increasing growth.”

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.