NEWS DESK
ISM: US Manufacturing Economy Contracts for 2nd Straight Month
T
he US manufacturing economy contracted for a second consecutive month in December as new orders, output
and employment declined, according to a monthly report by the Institute for Supply Management. The institute’s PMI, which measures economic activity in manufacturing, was 48.2% for December. The report by ISM (Tempe, AZ) is based on a survey of purchasing and supply executives. Readings above 50% indicate expan- sion and below 50% contraction. The PMI was 48.6% in November, the first monthly contraction in three years. The PMI’s high over the past 12 months was 53.5% in both January and June 2015. The index has declined every month starting in July and aver- aged 51.4% during 2015. The institute’s New Orders index was 49.2% in December. That was better than the 48.9% level in November but still indicated contraction. The Produc- tion Index was 49.8% in December, an improvement from 49.2% in November. The Employment Index for December was 48.1%, down from 51.3% in No- vember, when employment was growing. Only six of 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in November, including textile mills, paper products and miscellaneous manufacturing. Ten sectors contracted, including apparel; plastics and rubber products; machinery; transportation equipment; fabricated metal products; and electrical equipment. —Senior Editor Bill Koenig
US Light Vehicle Sales Surge to Record in 2015
U 20
AdvancedManufacturing.org | February 2016
S sales of cars and light trucks surged to a record 17.47 million
in 2015. Total sales for the year increased
5.7% from 2014’s 16.52 million de- liveries, according to Autodata Corp. (Woodcliff Lake, NJ). The previous an- nual record was 17.4 million in 2000.
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