TEMPE, Ariz. – It was more of the same for the U.S. manufacturing in November, with the sector contracting for the 13th month in a row. The Institute for Supply Management’s index came in at 46.7% for the month, the same number recorded in October. Any reading below 50 indicates a contraction.

As of last month, the manufacturing sector is in its longest stretch of contraction since the Great Recession.

“Demand remains soft, and production execution is slightly down compared with October as panelists’ companies continue to manage outputs, material inputs and — more aggressively — labor costs,” said Timothy R. Fiore, ISM chairman. “Suppliers continue to have capacity.

“New orders contracted but at a slower rate, new export orders dropped further into contraction territory, and order backlogs dropped below 40% to remain in strong contraction territory,” he continued. “The Customers’ Inventories Index reading moved into expansion, toward the upper end of ‘about right’ territory, not accommodative for future production.

“Output/consumption (measured by the production and employment indexes) was negative, with a combined 2.9-percentage point downward impact on the index calculation. Panelists’ companies slightly reduced month-over-month production and took more actions to reduce head counts, primarily using layoffs and attrition.”

Just three of the 18 manufacturing industries recognized by the ISM saw growth in November: food and beverage, non-metallic mineral products and transportation equipment. One industry reported no change, while the other 14 (including furniture) recorded declines.

As in October, furniture reported a decline in new orders. Also like last month, it reported no change in production output or in employment numbers.

Furniture manufacturers reported lower inventories for the month, while reporting their customers’ inventories to be too high. The industry continues to report paying less for raw materials.

Source: https://www.furnituretoday.com/