Chicago Manufacturing Surged in July

anufacturing activity in the Chicago area surged in July, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said in its monthly report issued Friday.

APM’s business barometer rose to 63.5 in July from 53.6 in June, the group said. Economists had predicted the Chicago index would rise to 54, Bloomberg reported.

The new orders index rose to 69.6 from 56.5, the production index climbed to 70.5 from 57.8 and the employment index rose to 56.1 from 48.9

Chicago is a major center of U.S. manufacturing, which is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.