Economic activity in the US manufacturing sector grew in May, with the overall economy achieving a 24th consecutive month of growth, the nation's supply executives said in in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. Fifteen manufacturing industries reported growth in May, with apparel, leather and allied products topping the list.

The May manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) registered 56.1 per cent, a rise of 0.7 percentage point from 55.4 per cent in April.

“This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 24th month in a row after a contraction in April and May 2020. This is the second-lowest manufacturing PMI reading since September 2020, when it registered 55.4 per cent, said Timothy R Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing business survey committee, in a statement.

The only industry reporting a decrease in May compared to April was furniture and related products.

The new orders index reading of 55.1 per cent is 1.6 percentage points higher than the 53.5 per cent recorded in April. The production index reading of 54.2 per cent is a 0.6-percentage point increase compared to April's 53.6 per cent.

The prices index registered 82.2 per cent, down 2.4 percentage points compared to April’s 84.6 per cent. The backlog of orders index registered 58.7 per cent, 2.7 percentage points higher than the April reading of 56 per cent.

The supplier deliveries index reading of 65.7 per cent is 1.5 percentage points lower than April’s 67.2 per cent. The inventories index registered 55.9 per cent, 4.3 percentage points higher than April’s 51.6 per cent.

The new export orders index reading of 52.9 per cent is up 0.2 percentage point compared to April's 52.7 per cent. The imports index fell into contraction territory, decreasing by 2.7 percentage points to 48.7 per cent from 51.4 per cent in April.

"The US manufacturing sector remains in a demand-driven, supply chain-constrained environment….May was a second straight month of slight easing of prices expansion, but instability in global energy markets continues,” Fiore said.

"All of the six biggest manufacturing industries—machinery; computer and electronic products; food, beverage and tobacco products; transportation equipment; petroleum and coal products; and chemical products—registered moderate-to-strong growth in May,” he added.

By Fibre2Fashion
https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/manufacturing-news/15-us-manufacturing-industries-grow-in-may-apparel-leather-top-281131-newsdetails.htm