WASHINGTON --While some businesses reported supply tightness and more costly raw materials, manufacturing did growth slightly in May from April, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday.
The ISM manufacturing sector purchasing managers index was at 55.4 from 54.9 in April, showing the sector continued to expand.
New orders, production, and employment growth slowed, while prices rose at an accelerated pace. The prices PMI jumped to 60.0 from 56.5.
Meanwhile customer inventories continued to contract.
Some sectors benefited from the impact rising natural gas prices are having on the oil patch, driving better sales but also higher prices.
“The May ISM report confirms our belief that the Fed’s April figure was only a one-month correction due to the severe weather and the inventory imbalance the volatility in purchases and production created,” said Daniel J. Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI).
“We believe that manufacturing activity will continue to grow faster than the overall economy again this year and next,” he added. “ The main drivers of the superior growth are an acceleration in business investment as well as the housing and transportation equipment supply chain ramp- up. Both will drive a rebound in raw material manufacturing. Consumer- driven manufacturing activity will continue to grow at a steady, moderate rate this year and next.”
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
