Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April, and the overall economy grew for the 95th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Manufacturing expanded in April as the PMI registered 54.8 percent, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from the March reading of 57.2 percent, indicating growth in manufacturing for the eighth consecutive month. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.

Bradley J. Holcomb, CPSM, CPSD, chair of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee states, “The past relationship between the PMI® and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI for January through April (56.4 percent) corresponds to a 4.1 percent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis. In addition, if the PMI for April (54.8 percent) is annualized, it corresponds to a 3.6 percent increase in real GDP annually.”

A PMI above 43.3 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Therefore, the April PMI indicates growth for the 95th consecutive month in the overall economy and the eighth straight month of growth in the manufacturing sector.

“For the PMI, each month of 2017 is higher than any month of 2016,” states Holcomb. “So we are off to a very good start in the first four months of this year.”

By: DocMemory
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