The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM’s) closely watched PMI measure for national manufacturing registered 49.1 for March, down -1.0 but better than consensus forecast of 45.0 (a reading below 50 indicates contraction). The March number actually exceeds the PMI readings for the four months from October 2019 – January 2020, the last PMI readings below 50. According to ISM, “The coronavirus pandemic and shocks in global energy markets have impacted all manufacturing sectors.” New Orders, New Export Orders, Backlog of Orders, Employment and Production were all down and contracting. See the full report here.
