April 2, 2009

Manufacturing contracted again in March for the 14^th consecutive month, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business.

The Institute for Supply Management report read: "The rapid decline in manufacturing appears to have moderated somewhat, as the PMI remains in the mid-30s for a third consecutive month. While the PMI is slightly higher in March, the New Orders Index offers greater encouragement, as it rose above the 40-percent mark for the first time in seven months.

"The Production Index showed no benefit as yet from the improvement in new orders, as it continued to decline at a rate similar to March. The rate of decline in the Employment Index slowed slightly, and the same held true for the Prices Index. A special question was asked …

New orders for manufactured goods in February, up following six consecutive monthly decreases, increased $6.1 billion or 1.8% to $352.2 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in a preliminary report. This followed a 3.5% January decrease.
 
This data is an update to the Advance data released March 25. This report provides more details on the month’s performance.
 
Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.6%. Shipments, down seven consecutive months, decreased $0.4 billion or 0.1% to $365.9 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 2.6% January decrease.
 
Unfilled orders, down five consecutive months, decreased $10.7 billion or 1.4% to …