Economy
November 3, 2015
The ISM Manufacturing Index Down Again in October
Written by Peter Wright
The Institute of Supply Management released their October report on November 2nd. 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 had positive growth on a month over month basis in June and July but since then has had three more months of contraction ending up at 50.1 in October. Any number >50 indicates expansion. The three month moving average is now below the 307 month average since March 1990 which stands at 52.21. There has only been one month in over six years that the index has not exceeded the positive growth threshold of 50 (Figure 1).
