A “healthy gain” for manufacturing in February

By Plant Engineering Staff March 2, 2006

National Association of Manufacturers economist Chi Nguyen said a report by the Institute for Supply Management reported an uptick in manufacturing in February was a “health gain”. The ISM’s Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing rose 1.9% in February to 56.7%.

“The manufacturing sector obviously heated up a bit in February,” she said, “and that’s good news.PMI’s indices for both new orders and manufacturing employment were also up 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively, and that bodes well for a nice finish for the first quarter and a solid start to the second.”

“Manufacturing’s steady recovery appears to be staying on track as this is the 33rd consecutive month that the manufacturing index has stayed above 50,” Nguyen said, explaining that an index above 50 indicates growth within the manufacturing sector.An index below 50 indicates contraction.