Economy
September 1, 2015
ISM Manufacturing Index Down in August but Still in Expansion Zone
Written by Peter Wright
The Institute of Supply Management released their August report on September 1st. An explanation of the ISM index is given at the end of this piece. After seven straight months of decline the three month moving average (3MMA) of the index gained 0.67 points in June and 0.40 points in July. August gave back 0.57 points to a value of 52.43. Any number >50 indicates expansion. The three month moving average is above the 305 month average since March 1990 which stands at 52.21. There has only been one month in over five years that the index has not exceeded the positive growth threshold of 50 (Figure 1).
