Economic activity in U.S. manufacturing grew during the month of November, marking the 18th consecutive month of growth according to the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®. The November Manufacturing PMI® was 61.1%, up 0.3% from October’s 60.8%.
The food, beverage, and tobacco products sector was one of the 13 manufacturing industries reporting growth in November. This growth is in spite of continued challenges with meeting demand, hiring difficulties, and labor turnover.
The prices index went from 85.7 to 82.4, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points. Several commodities are in short supply, with temporary labor on this list for the seventh consecutive month. The food, beverage, and tobacco industry was one of five industries reporting a decrease in employment in November. “All input costs are going up considerably, across the board,” one industry respondent reported.
ISM Chair Timothy R. Fiore commented that all manufacturing segments are being impacted by record-long-raw material and capital equipment lead times, coupled with high commodity prices and continued shortages, just to name a few setbacks. Still, panel sentiment continues to remain very optimistic, with 10 positive growth comments for every cautious one.
