The ISM Manufacturing Index registered 60.7% in April, down 4.0 percentage points from the March reading of 64.7%. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 11th month in a row. All the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in April.
The Employment Index registered 55.1% in April; 54.5 percentage points lower than the March reading of 59.6%. This was the fifth month in a row of growth for the index.
The New Orders Index registered 64.3% in April, down 3.7 percentage points compared to the 68% reported in March. This indicates that new orders grew for the eleventh consecutive month.
The New Export Orders Index was 54.9% in April, up 0.4 percentage point compared to the March reading of 54.5%.
The Inventories Index registered 46.5% in April; 4.3 percentage points lower than the 50.8% reported for March. Inventories contracted after growing for one month.
Read the ISM release.
