The US manufacturing sector continued to trend up in November as order books strengthened and production increased, according to the latest Institute of Supply Management (ISM) data.
However, the ISM Manufacturing Index declined slightly to 57.5pc last month from 59.3pc in October in tandem with a slight fall in the employment sub-index, which declined to 48.4pc denoting a contraction in employment.
Order backlogs and goods deliveries both increased in November from the previous month with ISM’s order backlogs sub-index rising to 56.9pc from October 55.7pc and suppliers’ deliveries rising to 61.7pc from 60.5pc.
Exports also continued to strengthen in November despite tight supply. The ISM index for new export orders also increased to 57.8pc in November from 55.7pc in the previous month, while the inventories index fell slightly to 51.2pc from 51.9pc during the same period under review.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries covered by the index, 16 reported growth. They included primary metals, fabricated metal products, machinery, transportation equipment, and electrical equipment, appliances & components.