Thread: U.S. Manufacturing index hits highest level since ’04

Manufacturing index hits highest level since ’04

Private group: Factory production rises for 6th-straight month in January

updated 26 minutes ago
The U.S. manufacturing sector grew for a sixth straight month in January, to its strongest point since August 2004. The report bolstered hopes that America's factories will help drive the economic recovery.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index read 58.4 in January, compared with 54.9 in December. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a level of 55.5. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

New orders, a sign of future growth, jumped to 65.9 in January, the highest level since 2004, from 64.8 in December. Current production surged to 66.2 from 59.7, also to its peak since 2004. Order backlogs grew.

Thirteen of 18 industries said they were expanding, led by the apparel, textile mills and machinery sectors.

Manufacturers have been pumping up production to feed their customers' depleted stockpiles. The ISM said manufacturers' inventories contracted at a slower rate in January, but their customers' stockpiles fell to an all-time low.

As their customers try to restock their shelves, manufacturers will need to ramp up production to match their demands. That will likely mean hiring more workers, which would help invigorate the economic rebound. ISM's employment measure grew last month.

Meanwhile, a weak dollar is boosting exports to fast-growing countries in Asia and Latin America. Monday's report said exports grew more quickly in January, to 58.5 from 54.5 in December.

A resurgence in worldwide trade is helping sales for American companies. In the fourth quarter, U.S. exports rose 18.1 percent, the government said last week. Shipments of goods alone soared 28.1 percent.

Reports from around the globe — India, China, South Korea and the eurozone — showed rising strength in manufacturing and exports.

Economists warn, though, that high unemployment and tight credit for small businesses could make the inventory bounce short-lived.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35181574/ns ... d_economy/

OK, now how much do want for that bridge?

Manufacturing in the United ...
Manufacturing in the U.S. generates about $1.6 trillion, or 12 percent of our gross domestic product, accounting for nearly three quarters of the nation's ...
www.americanmanufacturing.org/issues/manufacturing/ - Cached - Similar

29,456 Manufacturing Companies in the United States. Search or browse our list of manufacturing companies by category or location.
www.manta.com/mb_33_E7_000/manufacturing - Cached - Similar

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Manufacturing in the United ...
Manufacturing in the U.S. generates about $1.6 trillion, or 12 percent of our gross domestic product, accounting for nearly three quarters of the nation's ...
www.americanmanufacturing.org/issues/manufacturing/ - Cached - Similar

29,456 Manufacturing Companies in the United States. Search or browse our list of manufacturing companies by category or location.
www.manta.com/mb_33_E7_000/manufacturing - Cached - Similar

I'll check out the links, and I thank you for them. But I have to tell you this is such a hot-button issue for me, believe me when I say that I check the labels on everything (and I mean everything) that I buy; I haven't found the Made in the USA label but once in thousand that I've checked.

I hope your post is correct, because unless we get our manufacturing base back (and in such a way that it employs Americans), we will never dig out of this hole.

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Ford auto sales rise 24% in January, A sign of recovery?

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-187243.html

I do believe that manufacturing is on the rise in USA. That is the only way we can survive and our government knows it. Bring back the good jobs or die as a nation....those are the choices. You cant have a good economy when most of the population is unemployed/underemployed or making such crappy wages that they can barely afford to eat. We need to bring back a STRONG middle class like we once had. I think our government has been in denial for many years, but now they feel the pain.