WASHINGTON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in February for the 16th month in a row, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said Friday.
The U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 47.8 percent in February, down 1.3 percentage points from the 49.1 percent recorded in January. Any reading below 50 percent indicates the manufacturing sector is generally contracting.
"The U.S. manufacturing sector continued to contract (and at a faster rate compared to January), with demand slowing, output easing and inputs remaining accommodative," Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM's manufacturing business survey committee, said in a statement.
The New Orders Index in the month moved back into contraction territory at 49.2 percent, 3.3 percentage points lower than the 52.5 percent recorded in January, "as seasonal headwinds were too strong to overcome," the statement noted.
The Backlog of Orders Index improved but sill in moderate contraction territory, registering 46.3 percent, 1.6 percentage points higher than the 44.7 percent recorded in January.
"Typical first quarter volume drops from fourth quarter high volumes. Additional distribution has allowed us to maintain consistent production shifts," said a business executive from the industry of food, beverage and tobacco products.
"The first quarter will be slower due to some customer order changes, but we are expecting the rest of 2024 to be strong. We may increase our growth projections," said an executive from the transportation equipment industry. ■