The United States Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) increased to 47.4% in December from 46.7% registered in November, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) revealed in its report on Wednesday.
In the reported month, the Employment Index rose to 48.1% from 45.8% in the prior month. The Production Index jumped back into growth territory, from 48.5% recorded in November to 50.3% in December. On the other hand, the Prices Index plummeted 4.7 percentage points, on a monthly basis, to 45.2% and the New Orders Index decreased to 47.1% from 48.3% registered in November.
"The US manufacturing sector continued to contract, but at a slightly slower rate in December as compared to November. Companies are still managing outputs appropriately as order softness continues. Demand eased, with the New Orders Index contracting at a faster rate, New Export Orders Index essentially flat, and Backlog of Orders Index climbing back above 40 percent but still in fairly strong contraction territory," Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee noted. "None of the six biggest manufacturing industries registered growth in December," he added.
