November Markit Manufacturing PMI: Solid Month Despite Small Decline

The November US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index conducted by Markit came in at 55.3, down 0.4 from the 557 final October 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:

"Despite the headline PMI slipping to a three-month low, November saw manufacturers enjoy another encouragingly solid month of improving business conditions.

Dig deeper behind the headline number and the picture brightens further. New orders rose at the fastest rate for six months, prompting manufacturers to continue to expand capacity to meet demand. The pace of job creation remained among the highest seen over the past decade." [Press Release]

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

 

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 ).

 

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