Economic Watch: Manufacturing Solid, Construction Disappoints
U.S. manufacturing activity in July remained solid, according to two reports issued on Aug. 1. Meanwhile, separate reports showed overall construction activity in the U.S. eased as consumer spending and personal incomes barely improved.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index registered 56.3, down 1.5% from June but still well above a level the level of 50 that indicates expansion in this segment, which makes up about 12% of the U.S. economy.
This latest reading was just below a consensus estimate from analysts, but showed manufacturing is continuing to build on June’s gain with a return to expansion not seen since 2014, according to CNBC.
Comments from the survey of supply managers generally reflect expanding business conditions, with new orders, production, employment, backlog, and exports all growing in July compared to June, as well as supplier deliveries showing improving and inventories unchanged during the period.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 15 reported growth in July.
Meantime, a separate report on manufacturing showed a solid improvement in operating conditions while the upturn in business conditions was largely driven by marked and accelerated expansions in both output and new orders.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 53.3 in July, up from 52 in June. Like the ISM report, a reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Production at U.S. manufacturers increased for the fourteenth month running in July while new orders received by US manufacturing firms grew at a solid pace, recovering from the nine-month low seen in June.
“The only real blot on the copybook was a decline in exports for the first time since last September,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit “However, although rising, the survey indices remain consistent with only very modest increases in comparable official data such as manufacturing output, durable goods orders and payroll numbers.”
He said the …Read the rest of this story
