Down 0.7 points from September, the ISM (Institute for Supply Management) Manufacturing PMI registered 46.5% in October, indicating contraction at a faster rate.
“This is the lowest Manufacturing PMI reading in 2024,” says Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM’s manufacturing business survey committee. “The manufacturing sector has contracted the last seven months. Of the five subindexes that directly factor into the Manufacturing PMI, only one (supplier deliveries) was in expansion territory, the same as in September.”
The new orders index and the employment index contracted at a slower rate in October, registering 47.1% and 44.4%, respectively.
The production index fell 3.6 points to 46.2%, indicating contraction at a faster rate when compared to September’s figure.
Five manufacturing industries reported growth last month:
- Apparel, leather & allied products
- Food, beverage & tobacco products
- Petroleum & coal products
- Computer & electronic products
- Miscellaneous manufacturing
“Only two of the six largest manufacturing industries — food, beverage & tobacco products; and computer & electronic products — expanded in October, compared to one in September,” Fiore says.
Several respondents in the comments of the survey report uncertainty surrounding trade as the election approaches.
“Contingency plans have been formulated to anticipate trade policies that will impose tariffs on key materials,” writes a respondent in the chemical products industry.
Multiple survey responses also comment on other factors that impacted the supply chain.
“The potential port strike sent ripple effects through our industry,” writes one respondent in the petroleum & coal products industry. “The three recent hurricanes missed large manufacturing hubs on the Gulf Coast but have still caused minor delays.”
