Updated: 01-May-26 10:21 ET
Highlights
- The ISM Manufacturing Index checked in at 52.7% for April (Briefing.com consensus: 53.1%), unchanged from March.
- The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the April figure suggests the rate of change in manufacturing activity in April was the same as in March.
- The New Orders Index increased to 54.1% from 53.5%.
- The Production Index slipped to 53.4% from 55.1%.
- The Prices Index jumped to 84.6% from 78.3%, hitting its highest level since April 2022.
- The Employment Index fell to 46.4% from 48.7%.
- The Backlog of Orders Index dropped to 51.4% from 54.4%.
- The Supplier Deliveries Index increased to 60.6% from 58.9%.
- The New Export Orders Index slipped to 47.9% from 49.9%.
- The key takeaway from the report is that it had some stagflation aspects for the manufacturing sector, namely low growth, a further contraction in employment, and a stark increase in the prices index, which has risen 25.6 percentage points in the last three months.
| Category | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC |
| Total Index | 52.7 | 52.7 | 52.4 | 52.6 | 47.9 |
| Orders | 54.1 | 53.5 | 55.8 | 57.1 | 47.4 |
| Production | 53.4 | 55.1 | 53.5 | 55.9 | 50.7 |
| Employment | 46.4 | 48.7 | 48.8 | 48.1 | 44.8 |
| Deliveries | 60.6 | 58.9 | 55.1 | 54.4 | 50.8 |
| Inventories | 49.0 | 40.1 | 48.8 | 47.6 | 45.7 |
| Export Orders | 47.9 | 49.9 | 50.3 | 50.2 | 46.8 |
| Prices paid (not seas adj) | 84.6 | 78.3 | 70.5 | 59.0 | 58.5 |
