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Allison JacksonSeptember 4, 2012 20:32
ISM survey shows US manufacturing activity contracts in August
The ISM survey shows US manufacturing activity contracted in August for the third straight month.
The ISM survey shows US manufacturing activity contracted in August for the third straight month.
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A Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft under construction at the Boeing production facilities in Everett, Washington, on February 17, 2012. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Manufacturing activity in the United States contracted in August for the third straight month, as the global economic downturn eroded demand for machinery, equipment and other products.
The closely-watched Institute for Supply Management survey showed manufacturing activity fell to 49.6 last month from 49.8 in July, the Associated Press reported.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
It was the lowest level in three years and the longest decline since July 2009, a month after the recession officially ended, Bloomberg reported.
“Manufacturing has been one of the stalwarts of an otherwise lackluster recovery but it’s starting to show some cracks,” Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial Corp. in Birmingham, Alabama, told Bloomberg.
Reuters said the employment component of the index fell to 51.6, the lowest since November 2009, from 52 in July.
Exports rose slightly to 47 in August from 46.5 in July.
Until a few months ago, the US manufacturing sector had appeared to be in good health compared with the rest of the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Manufacturing activity has been contracting in most major economies, including the euro zone, Britain, China, Japan and Brazil.
More from GlobalPost: China manufacturing activity contracts in August, surveys show
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120904/ism-survey-us-manufacturing-activity-August
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