The Institute for Supply Management recently released their Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) for manufacturing which showed a 3.2% rise during December. This marks the seventh straight month that the manufacturing sector has seen growth from its springtime lows. The December PMI number also indicates the industry grew at a faster pace in December than November as Company backlogs continue to pile up.
While the continued growth has been welcomed, manufacturers still continue to experience challenges as 39.5% of respondent reported slower delivers in December. Prices are also on the rise as the price index hit its highest point since May 2018, which was the peak of the last manufacturing cycle. The President of ISM, Timothy Fiore, noted that “aluminum, copper, steel, petroleum-based products, transportation costs, electronic components, corrugate, temporary labor and lumber products all saw record price increases.” So while demand appears to have returned, supply chain issues are still currently holding manufacturing companies back from achieving an even higher growth rate.
Read the full article here: https://www.industryweek.com/operations/article/21151601/december-manufacturing-pmi-beats-expectations-climbs-32
