US manufacturing index rises in December, leather industry grows
A report from the US Institute of Supply Management (ISM) found that leather was among only three out of 20 manufacturing industries surveyed to record growth in December. Apart from leather, increases were evident in the apparel, and instruments and photographic equipment sectors. The monthly ISM report confirmed that manufacturing business activity declined in December, but by less than in the previous month of November.
The ISM questions US purchasing managers every month to give an index (PMI - Purchasing Managers’ Index) that is a useful gauge as to how well the US manufacturing sector is performing. In December, the PMI rose to 48.2 from 44.5 in November - higher than the 46 expected by analysts (a number above 50 reflects growth, a number below, contraction).
Despite the fact that the report showed US manufacturing still in recession, the figures suggest that the sector might have bottomed out, and gave some encouragement for the rest of 2002.
Norbert Ore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee issued the report on Wednesday (January 02, 2002). Mr Ore said: "While the manufacturing sector continues to decline, the rate of decline has slowed very quickly, giving some hope that recovery may come faster than is generally found in a major downturn. In December, both new orders and production returned to a growth scenario and the trend for most of the indexes is definitely in the right direction."
