Good times continue to roll for the nation’s manufacturers as economic activity in the sector grew year over year for the seventh straight month, supply executives said in the latest report from the Institute for Supply Manufacturing (ISM).
The organization’s key Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which measures manufacturing activity through a monthly survey of companies, registered a reading of 57 percent in December, just 0.3 percent below November’s 57.3 percent, which marked the high for 2013. The low for the year was 49 percent in May. A reading of 50 is neutral.
The PMI measures new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment.
Two key sub-indices – new orders and the employment environment – reached their annual highs in December. The index for new orders rose to 64.2 percent, its highest reading since April 2010, while the employment index hit 56.9 percent, up 0.4 percent from November and the highest reading for the index since June 2011.
