PMI at 58.5% (Sept down 0.5% from Aug per ISM survey)

[papau]

The new orders index, which accounts for about a third of the total, dropped to 58.1, the lowest since July of last year, from 61.2 in August.


http://www.napm.org/ISMReport/ROB102004.cfm

September Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®
PMI at 58.5%


(Tempe, Arizona) — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in September for the 16th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 35th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Norbert J. Ore, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Manufacturing Business Survey Committee and group director, strategic sourcing and procurement, Georgia-Pacific Corporation. "The manufacturing sector continued to grow during September, but at a slightly slower rate. Both new orders and production remain strong, and employment growth accelerated."

The ISM Prices Index still indicates that there is significant upward pressure on prices. ISM's Customers' Inventories Index indicates that customer inventories are too low at this time. The Backlog of Orders Index indicates that order backlogs increased in September. The New Export Orders and Imports Indexes continued to grow in September. <snip>

ISM's Backlog of Orders Index for September, at 55 percent, was unchanged from the August reading. ISM's New Export Orders Index registered 51.8 percent, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from August's 54.2 percent. ISM's Imports Index decreased 3.4 percentage points to 55.8 percent in September, down from 59.2 percent in August.<snip>

[papau]

1. public works projects spending drops (schools and highways)

"public works projects, meanwhile, dropped by 1 percent in August from the previous month to an annual rate of $237.6 billion. The weakness in part reflected cuts in spending on schools and highways and streets"