The June US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index conducted by Markit came in at 52.7, down 4.3 from the final May 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 IHS Markit in their latest press release:

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said:

“The PMI survey has fallen in June to a level indicative of the manufacturing sector acting as a drag on GDP, with that drag set to intensify as we move through the summer. Forward-looking indicators such as business expectations, new order inflows, backlogs of work and purchasing of inputs have all deteriorated markedly to suggest an increased risk of an industrial downturn.

“Demand growth is cooling from households amid the cost-of-living crisis, and capital spending by companies is also showing signs of moderating due to tightening financial conditions and the gloomier outlook. However, most marked has been a steep drop in orders for inputs by manufacturers, which hints at an inventory correction.

“Some welcome news is that the drop in demand for inputs has brought some pressure off supply chains and calmed prices for a wide variety of goods, which should help alleviate broader inflationary pressures in coming months.” [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).

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