#555 – Good News or Bad News?

Good News or Bad News?

We would like to tell you we have some good news for the manufacturing sector, but quite honestly, we just are not sure… We have read the headlines and we can’t decide who or which source to believe.

For example, here are three recent headings:

*          Has the Bottom Finally Fallen Out for Manufacturing Job Growth? IndustryWeek, 10/7/2015

*          Manufacturing Moved South, Then Moved Out. Bloomberg View, 10/7/2015

*          US Manufacturing Resurgence Continues. GlobeSt.com, 10/16/2015

See our dilemma?

As you can see in our column to the right, we pay particular attention to the ISM Manufacturing Index.  This index monitors employment, production inventories, new orders, and supplier deliveries. A reading above 50 signifies expansion in the industry, while a reading below 50 signifies contraction. The September 2015 reading was 50.2. While this is above 50, it has been on the decline since June 2015. The Index bottomed out in December 2008 at 33.1, during the Great Recession.  Since that time, the index peaked at 59.6 in February 2011. However, since that time, it has struggled to endure a continually positive growth pattern.

As always, we keep plugging away here at Agracel. Keep an eye to the right side column…