US manufacturing grows in Apr, 23rd consecutive economic growth month

The April figure is the lowest reading since July 2020 (53.9 per cent), ISM said in a press release. Seventeen manufacturing industries reported growth in April, and at the top were apparel and leather and allied products.

"Manufacturing performed well for the 23rd straight month, with demand registering slower month-over-month growth (likely due to extended lead times and decades-high material price increases) and consumption softening (due to labour force constraints). Overseas partners are experiencing COVID-19 impacts, creating a near-term headwind for the US manufacturing community. Fifteen per cent of panelists' general comments expressed concern about their Asian partners' ability to deliver reliably in the summer months, up from 5 percent in March," says Timothy R Fiore, who chairs ISM’s manufacturing business survey committee.

The new orders index registered 53.5 per cent, down 0.3 percentage point compared to the March reading of 53.8 per cent. The production index reading of 53.6 per cent is a 0.9-percentage point decrease compared to March's figure of 54.5 per cent. The prices index registered 84.6 per cent, down by 2.5 percentage points compared to the March figure of 87.1 per cent.

The backlog of orders index registered 56 per cent, 4 percentage points lower than the March reading of 60 per cent. The supplier deliveries index registered 67.2 per cent, an increase of 1.8 percentage points compared to the March figure of 65.4 per cent.

The inventories index registered 51.6 per cent, 3.9 percentage points lower than the March reading of 55.5 per cent. The new export orders index reading of 52.7 per cent is down by 0.5 percentage point compared to March's figure of 53.2 per cent. The imports index registered 51.4 per cent, a 0.4-percentage point decrease from the March reading of 51.8 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)