According to CNBC, the manufacturing activity, specifically through the ISM manufacturing index has rebounded more than expected in the month of March. In February, the index changed from 55.3 to 54.2. This was marked the lowest that the manufacturing index has seen since the low point of 2016. The readings that are indicated below 50 represent a contraction within the ISM index. This month in March, the index has ticked back up to 55.8, which has
increases a lot more than a lot of analysts could have predicted.
In addition to the manufacturing index increasing through the month of March, the construction industry has also hit a 9-month high in spending. The strong gains even with the sluggish housing market and expensive building materials are a good sign for the economy. Hopefully, they can continue to find work within the construction industry and help the housing market get out of this drought that we are currently in. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next coming months to see if this continues.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/01/ism-.html
2 comments:
Jack, it has been extremely interesting to watch the housing market in recent years. As a son of a home builder, the increase in cost of new construction has been massive and is surprising that the industry didn't slow down earlier. I would assume, as I have not done much research, that the same goes for commercial/industrial construction. With the Tax law changes from President trump he mentioned how he wanted to bring industry back to the United States, and maybe thats what this is. Although, with America already going through a heavy industrial period, I dont see this sector going to boom any time soon.
This is good news to hear. Hopefully, the manufacturing increase will show in the construction industry and housing market since a strong housing market typically reflects a strong economy. With rumors coming and going about an impending recession in our economy, it is promising to hear that a prominent area is still doing well. I think it would be interesting to see exactly what areas of the manufacturing industry are resulting in this rebound. I do also agree with Antonio, I do not think this sector is going to really take off anytime soon since the majority of our economy is now focused on services.
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