Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in October for the 12th consecutive month following a 28-month period of growth, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business^®.

The Manufacturing PMI fell 2.3 peercentage points; in September. That's lower tha n the 49% recorded din September, said Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. The overall economy dropped back into contraction after one month of weak expansion preceded by nine months of contraction and a 30-month period of expansion before that.

"The U.S. manufacturing sector continued to contract and at a faster rate in October, dropping 2.3 percentage points to 46.7 percent, compared to September's reading of 49 percent. Companies are still managing outputs appropriately as order softness continues. Demand eased, with the (1) New Orders Index contracting at a faster rate, (2) New Export Orders Index continuing in contraction territory but with a modest increase, and (3) Backlog of Orders Index declining slightly and remaining in strong contraction territory. T