The ISM said its purchasing managers index edged down to 50.1 in October from 50.2 in September, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector.
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“There were also a few positive developments for the sector on the price front, with rates of inflation for both inputs and outputs down markedly compared with September”, said Smith.
The PMI for new export orders was 52.2 in October, just above a preliminary 52.1 and showing a return to growth from 48.0 in the previous month.
He added: “The revival provides a tentative suggestion that the manufacturers are pulling out of their recent funk, having been dogged by recession since the start of the year, and may help boost economic growth in the fourth quarter”.
Activity in the USA manufacturing sector saw a slight expansion in the month of October, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Monday.
Despite the slowdown in new order growth, manufacturers recruited additional workers in October.
An index measuring output that feeds into a composite PMI due on Wednesday and seen as a good guide to growth nudged up to 53.6 from 53.4 in September, beating the flash reading of 53.3.
But employment contracted sharply and the backlog of orders continued to shrink. Overall these readings did not point to contraction, which is what the factory sector actually has been in over the past year, but they are the lowest run for this report of the recovery. Those companies reporting higher staffing levels commented on expectations of a increase in demand in the coming months. Average purchase costs rose, amid reports of higher metal, paper and food prices.
Hitting a 16-month high and recording the steepest increase since Market Research Company Markit began its survey almost 24 years ago, was the UK.
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Britain was the fastest-growing big, developed economy a year ago, but other business surveys have suggested the pace of expansion has moderated, dented by an uncertain global outlook. “Upcoming survey data will show how effective the central bank’s effort to revive the economy has been”, Pollyanna De Lima, an economist at Markit said. New business and new export orders rose, as did employment.
