Manufacturing economic activity continued its trend of contraction in October for the 12th consecutive month. According to the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®, the September Manufacturing PMI® came in at 46.7%, 2.3 percentage points lower than September’s 49%.
Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said that even though demand remains soft, production execution is stable compared to September. Companies are managing outputs appropriately. And panelists’ companies took more immediate actions to reduce headcounts, with layoffs used as the primary tool.
The food, beverage, and tobacco industry was one of two industries that reported growth in October. The industry reported a growth in production as well as a growth in employment. It experienced slower supplier deliveries during the month and was the only industry to report higher inventories during this time.
According to one industry respondent, “Markets appear to have slightly slowed. Certain commodities remain high.”
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