ISM Factory Index Falls to 55.2 in March
he Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its factory index slipped to 55.2 in March, down from 55.3 in February, though the sector continued to expand.
In a separate report, ISM said its service sector index also increased in March, rising to 63.1 from 59.8 a month earlier.
The services index had been scheduled for release next Tuesday but was inadvertently released Friday, an ISM spokeswoman told Bloomberg News.
The factory index was forecast to rise to 55, Bloomberg said. The manufacturing sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.
Though the index has slipped for five straight months, the index has shown expansion, marked by readings greater than 50, since June 2003.
The manufacturing sector maintained its strength in March and “finished the first quarter in a relatively strong position,” said Norbert Ore, chairman of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
“Price inflation continues to present a problem for manufacturers,” he said in a statement.
SM’s new orders index, which accounts for about a third of the total, rose to 57.1 in March from 55.8 in February.
he production index, a gauge of work being performed, fell to 56.5 from 56.7.
The employment index dropped to 53.3 from 57.4 in February. The index of inventories rose to 54.1 from 48.6, ISM said.
The backlog of orders index rose to 56 from 50.5, while new export orders fell to 55.4 from 57.4.
The index of supplier deliveries, which measures how long it takes to get materials, declined to 52.5 from 53.9, ISM said.
ISM surveys more than 400 companies in 20 industries, including transportation, clothing, printing, furniture and plastics.
