U.S. manufacturing activity slowest in almost 2-1/2 years in September-ISM

[beijingwalker]

U.S. manufacturing activity slowest in almost 2-1/2 years in September-ISM​

Reuters
October 3, 202210:06 PM GMT+8

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in nearly 2-1/2 years in September as new orders contracted, likely as rising interest rates to tame inflation cooled demand for goods.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday that its manufacturing PMI dropped to 50.9 this month, the lowest reading since May 2020, from 52.8 in August.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing, which accounts for 11.9% of the U.S. economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index slipping to 52.3.

Some of the slowdown in manufacturing reflects the rotation of spending from goods to services. Government data last Friday showed spending on long-lasting manufactured goods barely rising in August, while outlays on services picked up.

The Federal Reserve has since March hiked its policy rate from near zero to the current range of 3.00% to 3.25%, and last month signaled more large increases were on the way this year.

The higher borrowing costs are undercutting spending on big-ticket items like household appliances and furniture, that are typically bought on credit.

The ISM survey's forward-looking new orders sub-index fell to 47.1 last month, also the lowest reading since May 2020, from 51.3 in August. It was the third time this year that the index has contracted. Order backlogs are also being whittled down. While that pointed to a further slowdown in manufacturing, it was also a function of easing bottlenecks in the supply chain.

The ISM's measure of supplier deliveries fell to 52.4 from 55.1 in August. A reading above 50% indicates slower deliveries to factories.

With supply chains loosening, inflation pressures at the factory gate continued to subside.

A measure of prices paid by manufacturers dropped to 51.7, the lowest reading since June 2020, from 52.5 in August. The continued slowdown is being driven by retreating commodity prices. Annual consumer and producer inflation decelerated in August, raising hope that prices had peaked.

The ISM survey's measure of factory employment dropped to 48.7 from a five-month high of 54.2 in August. It was the fourth time this year that the index has contracted. The index has been a poor predictor of manufacturing payrolls in the government's closely watched employment report, which have consistently grown despite the gyrations in the ISM employment gauge.

Though job growth is slowing, demand for workers remains strong. There were 11.2 million unfilled jobs across the economy at the end of July, with two job openings for every unemployed worker.

U.S. manufacturing nearly brakes in September as new orders contract

U.S. manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in nearly 2-1/2 years in September as new orders contracted amid aggressive interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve to cool demand and tame inflation.

www.reuters.com

 

[beijingwalker]

So much for bring the manufaturing and jobs back to America promised by various US politicians in their campaigns. once a liar, always a liar.

 

[beijingwalker]

U.S. manufacturing nearly brakes in September as new orders contract​

U.S. manufacturing nearly brakes in September as new orders contract

U.S. manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in nearly 2-1/2 years in September as new orders contracted amid aggressive interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve to cool demand and tame inflation.

www.reuters.com

 

[beijingwalker]

Manufacturing and jobs won't go back to America, their politicians have been shouting slogans and making empty promises for decades, people should've come to their sense and see their lies by now.

 

[beijingwalker]

Can Biden save democracy one U.S. factory job at a time?​

President Biden has staked his presidency on what he has called 'a historic manufacturing boom,' hoping to succeed where past presidents, governors and hordes of other politicians have struggled for a half-century.

BY JOSH BOAK
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — President Biden is working to create a manufacturing revival – even helping to put factory jobs in Republican territory under the belief it can restore faith in U.S. democracy.

The latest development came Tuesday, when chipmaker Micron announced an investment of up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years to build a plant in upstate New York that could create 9,000 factory jobs. It’s a commitment made in a GOP congressional district that Biden and the company credited to the recently enacted $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act.

“Today is another win for America, and another massive new investment in America spurred by my economic plan,” Biden said in a statement. “Together, we are building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, where we lower costs for our families and make it right here in America.”

Biden has staked his presidency on what he has called “a historic manufacturing boom,” hoping to succeed where past presidents, governors and hordes of other politicians have struggled for a half-century. His goal is to keep opening new factories in states such as Ohio, Idaho, North Carolina and Georgia – where Democrats’ footholds are shaky at best. Administration officials say they want to spread the prosperity across the entire country, rather than let it cluster in centers of extreme wealth, in a bid to renew the middle class and a sense of pride in the country itself.

The push comes at a precarious moment for the global economy. High inflation in the U.S. has hurt Biden’s popularity and prompted recession concerns. Much of Europe faces a possible downturn due to the jump in energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the International Monetary Fund just downgraded growth in China. The world economy is defined by uncertainty just as Biden has called for investments in clean energy and technology that could take years to pay off.

The president is hopeful that whatever good manufacturing can do for the U.S. economy also turns out to yield political benefits for himself and other Democrats in 2022 and beyond. He told Democratic donors on Friday that the manufacturing and technology investments mean “we have an opportunity” to strengthen the U.S. if Democratic governors and lawmakers are elected this year.

Going into the midterm elections, Biden is telling voters that a factory renaissance has already started because of him. The administration sees its infrastructure spending, computer chip investments and clean-energy incentives as helping domestic manufacturing in unprecedented ways.

Recent academic studies suggest that decades of layoffs due to offshoring contributed to the rise of Republican Donald Trump, with his opposition to immigration and global trade. But many of the authors of the studies doubt that Biden can make these demographic trends disappear through the promise of jobs for skilled workers.

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California would like to see the president make a national tour of factory openings, so that his policies could stick better in voters’ minds. Khanna recently attended the groundbreaking of a $20 billion Intel plant in Ohio and laid out his belief that factory job losses helped cause today’s political schisms.

The Silicon Valley congressman reasons that too many Americans have lost faith in a government that seemed indifferent to their own well-being, leading them to embrace hucksters and authoritarians who thrive by exploiting and widening divisions in society.

“How do you get rid of people’s jobs and expect them to believe in democracy?” Khanna asks.

Factory jobs have risen during Biden’s tenure to the most since 2008 at 12.85 million, yet the task of steadying the country’s middle class and its democratic institutions is far from complete. The industrial Midwest has yet to recover the factory jobs shed in the pandemic, let alone decades of layoffs in which the economic challenges evolved into political tensions.

Can Biden save democracy one U.S. factory job at a time?

President Biden has staked his presidency on what he has called 'a historic manufacturing boom,' hoping to succeed where past presidents, governors and hordes of other politicians have struggled for a half-century.

www.pressherald.com