The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM’s) October 2014 Purchasing Managers Index increased to 59.0 from 56.5 last month, indicating that manufacturing expanded for the seventeenth month in a row (any reading above 50.0 indicates growth). New Orders, Production, Employment and Backlog also grew. Overall, 16 of the 18 manufacturing sectors the index tracks reported growth, with only Petroleum & Coal Products showing contraction. These ISM readings reportedly surprised economists who had predicted slower growth based on PMI readings in Europe, China and elsewhere. See the full ISM report here.
