US Manufacturing Gets Stronger for the Third Straight Month
TEMPE, AZ — The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 54.2 in July, up from 52.6 in June and slightly better than the 54.0 economists surveyed by FactSet expected. Figures above 50 reflect expansion, while results below that level represent contraction. July’s reading shows the industrial sector expanded for the third straight month after April’s sharp shutdown-induced contraction.
Despite the improvement, an ISM index in the mid-50s doesn’t necessarily signal a return to normal conditions in the industrial sector, says Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. It simply says production is rising—in this case from a very depressed base.