Markit Manufacturing: "Manufacturing Output Continues To Recover Amid Further New Order Growth"

The December US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index conducted by Markit came in at 52.4, down 0.2 from the 52.6 final November figure. Markit's Manufacturing PMI is a diffusion index: A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector; below 50 indicates contraction.

Here is an excerpt from Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit in their latest press release:

"The US manufacturing sector continued to recover from the soft-patch seen in the summer, ending 2019 with its best quarter since the early months of 2019.

The overall rate of expansion nevertheless faltered somewhat in December and remains well below that seen this time last year, suggesting producers are starting 2020 on a softer footing than they had enjoyed heading into 2019." [Press Release]

Here is a snapshot of the series since mid-2012.

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Here is an overlay with the equivalent PMI survey conducted by the Institute for Supply Management (see our full article on this series here, note that ).

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The next chart uses a three-month moving average of the two rather volatile series to facilitate our understanding of the current trend.

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