October manufacturing report down from September,but showing growth

摘要

Although the numbers are showing continued signs of leveling out, the main theme of the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Report on Business indicated that growth is still occurring. In October, ISM reported that the index it uses to measure the manufacturing sector— known as the PMI—was 50.8, down 0.8% from September's 51.6 and in line with the 50.6 and 50.8 readings from August and July, respectively. The PMI was routinely topping 60 earlier in the year, but experts said it was not likely to remain at that level for a long period. Any reading 50 or higher is a sign of economic growth, and even with a flattening out of the PMI in the low 50s range in recent months, October represents the 27th straight month the manufacturing sector expanded and the 29th consecutive month that the overall economy showed growth.