Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector failed to grow in November for the fourth consecutive month, while the overall economy contracted for the second straight month, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported on Monday.
The ISM, a trade group based in Tempe, Arizona, said its manufacturing index, which reflects the opinions of purchasing managers at factories, plants and utilities, registered 36.2 last month, down from 38.9 in October and lower than analysts' expectations of 38.4.
A reading above 50 indicates growth while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The November reading is the lowest since May 1982.
For November, the ISM's production index registered 31.5, down from October's 34.1. The index for new orders, meanwhile, fell to 27.9 from a reading of 32.2 in the previous month.
The index measuring exports, a key source of strength for manufacturers over the past couple of years, remained at 41.0 in November. That's down from 57 as recently as August.
The index for employment, deliveries and manufacturers' order backlogs also declined last month.
The price index, which is an inflation gauge, was 25.5 last month. It marked a big improvement compared with the October reading of 37.0.
The ISM is a trade association representing approximately 40,000 supply management professionals.
The ISM report came the same day that the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private nonprofit group, said the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007.
The classic definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP. Many economists believe the economy will continue to shrink in the fourth quarter and early next year.
But the NBER said that they do not identify economic activity solely with real GDP, but use a range of indicators, including employment, personal income and industrial output, in determining the onset of recession.
Source: Xinhua
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