The July US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index conducted by Markit came in at 52.2, down 0.5 from the final June figure.

Here is an excerpt from IHS Markit in their latest press release:

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said:

“With the exception of pandemic lockdown periods, July saw US manufacturers report the toughest business conditions since 2009. A growth spurt in the spring has quickly gone into reverse, with new orders for factory goods down for a second straight month in July, leading to the first drop in production for two years and sharply reduced employment growth.

“The rising cost of living is the most commonly cited cause of lower sales, as well as the worsening economic outlook. “Companies are also taking an increasingly cautious approach to purchasing and inventories amid the gloomier outlook, and likewise appear to be cutting back on investment, with new orders falling especially sharply for business equipment and machinery in July.

“Supply chain problems remain a major concern but have eased, taking some pressure off prices for a variety of inputs. This has fed through to the smallest rise in the price of goods leaving the factory gate seen for nearly one and a half years, the rate of inflation cooling sharply to add to signs that inflation has peaked.” [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.

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