A report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. In the July PMI recorded 54.2 per cent up 1.6 percentage points from the June reading of 52.6 per cent. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the third month in a row after a contraction in April, which ended a period of 131 consecutive months of growth. Orders Index registered 61.5 per cent, an increase of 5.1 percentage points from the June reading of 56.4 per cent. The Production Index registered 62.1 per cent, up 4.8 percentage points compared to the June reading of 57.3 per cent. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 51.8 per cent, an increase of 6.5 percentage points compared to the June reading of 45.3 per cent. The Employment Index registered 44.3 per cent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from the June reading of 42.1 per cent. The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 55.8 per cent, down 1.1 percentage points from the June figure of 56.9 per cent.
