The good news is that the U.S. manufacturing sector posted its fourth consecutive month of expansion. The bad news is that the rate of expansion is slowing down.
The employment index rose from 52.6 in February to 54.2 in March and the prices index fell from 61.5 to 54.5, signalling that input prices are falling somewhat. New orders are continuing to grow, but at a slower pace, falling from 57.8 in February to 51.4 in March.
An earlier report from research firm Markit Economics showed U.S. PMI rose in March, from a reading of 54.3 in February to 54.6. Both reports showed rising employment, but the ISM report shows a sharp drop in new orders while the Markit report had new orders rising in March.
ISM noted that new orders decreased in March for two categories: Petroleum and Coal Products, and Primary Metals. A decline in energy demand and in demand for commodity metals could indicate that the admittedly slow expansion that we have seen could slow even more.
Share prices gave up early gains immediately after the ISM report was released. The S&P 500 is now down about 0.3 and the Nasdaq is down about 0.4%. The DJIA is roughly flat.
Find a Qualified Financial Advisor (Sponsor)
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
