by Calculated Risk on 9/02/2025 10:00:00 AM
(Posted with permission). The ISM manufacturing index indicated contraction. The PMI® was at 48.7% in August, up from 48.0% in July. The employment index was at 43.8%, up from 43.4% the previous month, and the new orders index was at 51.4%, up from 47.1%.
From ISM: MManufacturing PMI® at 48.7% August 2025 ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in August for the sixth consecutive month, following a two-month expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report.
The report was issued today by Susan Spence, MBA, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
“The Manufacturing PMI® registered 48.7 percent in August, a 0.7-percentage point increase compared to the 48 percent recorded in July. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 64th month after one month of contraction in April 2020. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 42.3 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.) The New Orders Index indicated growth in August following a six-month period of contraction; the figure of 51.4 percent is 4.3 percentage points higher than the 47.1 percent recorded in July. The August reading of the Production Index (47.8 percent) is 3.6 percentage points lower than July’s figure of 51.4 percent. The Prices Index remained in expansion (or ‘increasing’) territory, registering 63.7 percent, down 1.1 percentage points compared to the reading of 64.8 percent reported in July. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 44.7 percent, down 2.1 percentage points compared to the 46.8 percent recorded in July. The Employment Index registered 43.8 percent, up 0.4 percentage point from July’s figure of 43.4 percent.
emphasis added
This suggests manufacturing contracted in August. This was at the consensus forecast, although employment was weak and prices very strong.
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