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Chicago Purchasing Managers Index rose 3.1 points to 46.3 in November
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The Chicago Business BarometerTM, produced with MNI, rose 3.1 points in November, hitting a two-month high 46.3.
However, the index remains in contraction for the third month straight, resulting in a further fall of the 3-month average to 45.5.
The New Orders and Order Backlogs indices saw the largest monthly improvements in November, while Supplier Deliveries revealed the largest fall.
Production slipped to 42.3 in November after October’s uptick. However, demand improved significantly, indicated by New Orders which rose by 12.5 points to 49.4, just a touch below the 50-mark. There was, though, anecdotal evidence of firms being concerned about the outlook due to wider economic issues.
Order Backlogs recovered to 45.0 in November after October’s sharp decline to 33.1. Nevertheless, the indicator is below 50 for a third straight month.
Inventories fell by 8.7% to 43.0, indicating that firms continue to run down their stocks. The indicator revealed a fourth sub-50 reading in November. Employment demand ticked down by 0.2 points to 49.6, leaving the three-month average at 48.3.
Supplier delivery times saw the largest monthly decline to 50.2, hitting the lowest level since June 2016. However, the index is the only one among the main five components which remains above the 50-mark Prices at the factory gate cooled further to 53.5 in November, registering the lowest level since April.
November’s special question asked, “Are you passing the costs of tariffs on or absorbing the costs?” The majority of 57% said they are not passing on the costs of tariffs in contrast to 43% who said they are passing on the costs.
Posted: November 27, 2019 Wednesday 09:45 AM