ISM: US manufacturing PMI down to 55.4% in April
The manufacturing activity in the United States in April recorded a decrease from its previous reading in March, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) stated in a report on Monday. The April figure was the lowest since July 2020. The manufacturing PMI registered 55.4% lower than expected, a decline of 1.7 percentage points when compared to the March reading which amounted to 57.1%.
The New Orders Index was at 53.5 percent, 0.3 percentage points lower in comparison to the last month's reading of 53.8%. The Employment Index stood at 50.9, recording a significant decrease of 5.4 percentage points from March's figure which was 56.3%. The Production Index lost 0.9 percentage points and recorded 53.6%.
"The U.S. manufacturing sector remains in a demand-driven, supply chain-constrained environment. In April, progress slowed in solving labor shortage problems at all tiers of the supply chain," ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee Chair Timothy Fiore noted. "Overseas partners are experiencing COVID-19 impacts, creating a near-term headwind for the U.S. manufacturing community," he added.