Manufacturing activity declined again in November but at a slower pace than in October, says a survey by the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM) released today.
NAPM said its Purchasing Managers Index rose to 44.5 from a 10-year low of 39.8 in October. That was better than market expectations of a 41.7 reading. The new orders index, a barometer of future strength in manufacturing, rose sharply, to 48.8 from 38.3 in October.
A number under 50 on the monthly gauge of manufacturing indicates activity in the sector is contracting, and November was the 16th consecutive month the index has been below 50. Manufacturing accounts for about a sixth of the US economy.
The PMI last rose in August, giving hope for a long-awaited recovery in manufacturing, one of the sectors hardest hit by the slowdown that began last year. But the September 11th attacks quashed those hopes and deepened the downturn.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, the nation's official arbiter of recession, said last week the United States was in a recession that began in March 2001.