The November ISM Report shows the PMI® at 53.2%, up from 51.9. New orders, production and employment are growing. Inventories are contracting and deliveries are slowing.

Index Nov Oct PP Change Direction Rate of Change Trend in Months
PMI® 53.2 51.9 1.3 Growing Faster 3
New Orders 53.0 52.1 0.9 Growing Faster 3
Production 56.0 54.6 1.4 Growing Faster 3
Employment 52.3 52.9 -0.6 Growing Slower 2
Supplier Deliveries 55.7 52.2 3.5 Growing Faster 7
Inventories 49.0 47.5 1.5 Contracting Slower 17
Customers’ Inventories 49.0 49.5 -0.5 Too low Too Low 2
Prices 54.5 54.5 0.0 Increasing Same 9
Backlog of Orders 49.0 45.5 3.5 Contracting Slower 5
New Export Orders 52.0 52.5 -0.5 Growing Slower 9
Imports 50.5 52.0 -1.5 Growing Slower 2

These are improvements from a dip into negative territory four months ago.

However, it is important to keep ISM is a diffusion index as are the Fed regional manufacturing reports.

All these indices measure is improvement or not. For example, employment rising by 10 employees at one company will offset employment falling by 500 at another company.

The above spreadsheet shows that new orders are up at 53% of the companies surveyed. We do not know by how much.

Nor do we know if there is a total increase or decrease in the dollar amount of new orders, production, etc.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock