ISM Manufacturing Index

The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index kept its string of monthly increases this year intact, rising to 48.9 in July. (Values above 50 indicate that the sector is expanding.) Details of the report were encouraging. New orders rose above 50 even as businesses continued to liquidate excess inventories, suggesting that manufacturers will need to ramp up hiring and production in the near term. The gap between new orders and inventories is at its highest level since April 2004. Production has already risen to 57.9, and the employment index, though still below 50, has risen to 45.6, a sign that the long slide in manufacturing job losses could be winding down. The “cash-for-clunkers” program and a recent turnaround in exports are contributing to the improvement. A recovery in the manufacturing sector is good news not only for manufacturing properties, it translates into more goods flowing through corporate supply chains, which will support demand for warehouse/distribution space.
Source: Institute for Supply Management, Grubb & Ellis