U.S. Manufacturing Expands for 7th Consecutive Month

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in July for the seventh onsecutive month, the nation’s supply executives say in the latest ISM Manufacturing PMI Report.

“The Manufacturing PMI ® registered 55.6% in July, 2.3 percentage points above the June figure and the highest reading since May 2022. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 21st month in a row. (A Manufacturing PMI above 47.5 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.)

The New Orders Index expanded for the seventh consecutive month after four straight readings in contraction, registering 56.7%, up 0.7 percentage point compared to June’s figure of 56%. The July reading of the Production Index (58.5%) is 6.3 percentage points higher than the 52.2 percent recorded in June and the highest figure since November 2021 (60.5 percent).

The Prices Index remained in expansion (or ‘increasing’ territory), registering 71.1%, a 1.9-percentage point decrease from June’s reading of 73 percent. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 55%, up 4.5 percentage points compared to the 50.5% recorded in June.

The Employment Index reading of 52.8% is up 3.1 percentage points from June’s figure of 49.7%, putting the index in expansion territory for the first time in 33 months.

The Supplier Deliveries Index indicated slowing performance for the eighth month in a row after one month in ‘faster’ territory. The reading of 58.9% is up 1.5 percentage points from its June reading of
57.4%. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM PMI Reports index that is inversed; a reading of above 50 indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand
increases.)