Business activity unexpectedly declined in the Chicago area, according to the latest MNI Chicago Business Barometer survey. The Barometer, a survey of purchasing and supply management professionals in the Chicago area, lost 6.1 points, falling to 52.6 in April and to its lowest level since January 2017. “This was a disappointing start to the second […]
A pullback in production and orders caused the Chicago Business Barometer to fall six points in March to a reading of 64.7. The barometer averaged 60.0 in the first quarter of 2019, a 3.5 percent drop from Q4 2018 and a decline of 3.3 percent compared to Q1 2018. “Although the barometer has comfortably remained above […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer gained 8 points in February, climbing to 64.7, its highest level since December 2017. The February spike in business activity followed a decline to 56.7 in January. New orders rose 15.2 points and production gained 8.5 points. Order backlogs lengthened after declining in January. Supplier delivery times declined for a […]
The Chicago Business Barometer plummeted in January, falling 7.1 points to 56.7 from December’s downwardly adjusted reading of 63.8. New orders and production contributed heavily to the decline as new orders dropped to a two-year low and production to a 10-month low. Order backlogs eased to a three-month low and delivery of raw materials improved […]
The Chicago Business Barometer for December was revised downward to 63.8 from 65.4 following annual seasonal adjustments. The changes resulted in higher growth for first and second quarter, no change in third quarter, but a downward revision for the fourth quarter. The results indicate a cooling of growth at the end of 2018, said MNI […]
The Chicago Business Barometer jumped 8.0 points in November to an 11-month high of 66.4. Business was booming as new orders rose to their highest level since May 2014 and output increased for the second straight month. “The MNI Chicago Business Barometer clipped a run of three consecutive declines in emphatic style in November, boosted […]
Manufacturing activity continued at a healthy clip in October, although slipping on the MNI Chicago Business Barometer. The index dropped 2.0 points to 58.4 in October and plunged 10.7 points year-over-year to its lowest reading since December 2014. The decrease may signal a return to more normal levels after a year of particularly strong performance, […]
The Chicago Business Barometer dropped to a five-month low in September, sliding down 3.2 points to 60.4. Production and new orders continued solid growth in September, but softened to a six-month low for production and a five-month low for orders. Output and weaker demand was noted by some firms, although many continue to outperform their […]
The August Chicago Business Barometer recorded its first decrease in five months for a three-month low of 63.6 in August. The index was down 1.9 points from July’s reading of 65.5, according to MNI Indicators and the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago. Output and orders inched up slightly last month giving some firms breathing room to […]
The Chicago Business Barometer hit a six-month high in June, gaining 1.4 points to post at 65.5. New orders and production also reached six-month highs, increasing 8.0 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively. Increasing demand led to a third month of growth for order backlogs. The indicator posted a nine-month high with firms reporting unfinished work […]
The Chicago Business Barometer hit its highest level since January, rising 1.4 points to 64.1 in June. Four of five components of the headline index strengthened in June, said MNI Indicators. Orders flowed in for a five-month high and order backlogs were 11.4 percent higher than in June 2017. Supplier lead times continued to lengthen, […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer gained 5.1 points in May, jumping to 62.7 and its highest level since January. Output and orders drove the increase for manufacturers, although all five Barometer components rose this month. The production index was at a three-month high and new orders at a four-month high. The backlog index was at […]
The Chicago Business Barometer broke its three-month downward trend, inching up 0.2 points to 57.6. Production output picked up during the month, although new orders continued to decline. Both were below year-ago levels. Supplier delivery times lengthened, and steel was mentioned by respondents as difficult to source. The index was up almost 20 percent and […]
The Chicago Business Barometer dropped to a one-year low in March. The indicator of U.S. economic activity slid 4.5 points to register 57.4. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, three of the five components of the barometer declined. The production index was at its lowest level since October, and the new orders index […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer fell in February to its lowest level since August 2017. The barometer slipped 3.8 points from January’s reading to 61.9. Compared to a year ago, the index was up 8 percent and was above the 2017 average of 60.8 New orders were at a six-month low and production was at […]
The Chicago Business Barometer retreated 2.1 points in January to 65.7, but remained an encouraging start for 2018. The barometer was 28.3 percent higher than the January 2016 reading and above the average of 63.7 in the second half of 2017. New orders and output slowed in January. Orders were at a five-month low accompanied […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer reached a six-and-a-half year high in December. The Barometer rose to 67.6 from 63.9 in November. The indicator also had its best quarterly performance since Q1 2011, rising to 65.9 in the fourth quarter from 61.0 in the third. Production hit a 34-year high in December, while new orders were […]
The Chicago Business Barometer retreated 2.3 points in November to 63.9, its lowest level in three months. Any number above 50, however, is an indicator of growth. The decrease followed October’s six-and-a-half year high, and economists expect the Barometer to finish the year continuing its 21 straight months of expansion. Output was robust in November, […]
The Chicago Business Barometer hit a six-and-a-half year high in October, rising to 66.2 from 65.2 in September. Demand and output jumped during the month. New orders rose to their highest level since June, and production increased to its highest reading since August 2014. Longer backlogs were attributed to the hurricanes and healthy demand. Backlogs […]
A sharp rise in the September Chicago Business Barometer indicates a strong fourth quarter for manufacturing. The Barometer rose to 65.2 from 58.9 in August for its second highest level in more than three years. The average reading for the third quarter was a solid 61.0, steady with the second quarter’s three-year high of 61.1. […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer was unchanged in August at 58.9 after a July plunge that ended five months of increases. Slight gains in production and orders were offset by declines in backlogs, employment and supplier deliveries. The inventory loss was significant, dropping the index 6.4 points to end in contraction and the lowest reading […]
The Chicago Business Barometer dropped nearly 7 points in July, falling to 58.9 from 65.7 in June and ending a run of five consecutive increases. All components of the indicator receded, but remained above 12-month averages. The July Barometer “should be viewed in the context of the underlying, upward trend in business sentiment witnessed since […]
The Chicago Business Barometer took a giant leap in June, expanding from 59.4 in May to 65.7. The Barometer, which is designed to predict future changes in gross domestic product, was at its highest level since 2014. The average score for second quarter was 61.1, significantly stronger than the average of 55.1 in Q1. The […]
The Chicago Business Barometer hits its highest level since January, increasing from 58.3 in April to a reading of 59.5 in May. New orders fell 4.5 points to 61.4 but production gained 3.7 points for an index reading of 62.3. Order backlogs pulled from contraction after five months of decline. Delivery times for inputs lengthened […]
The Chicago Business Barometer in April reached its highest level since January 2015, posting a score of 58.3 from 57.7 in March. Growing demand for manufactured products pushed new orders up 5.5 points to a near three-year high. The production index in April was at another high level although receding slightly to 59.5 from 61.7. […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer only moved up slightly in March after a surge in points in February. The March reading was 57.7, up from 57.4. Increases were reported in new order and production with indexes reaching 4 and 14 month highs, respectively. Order backlogs increased for the third month but were still below the […]
The February Chicago Business Barometer reached its highest reading since January 2016. The Barometer rose 7.1 points to 57.4 buoyed by optimism and gains in new orders and production. Four of the five components of the Barometer increased in February. New orders rose 10.1 points after slipping below the 50 neutral mark in January. Production […]
The Chicago Business Barometer lost 3.6 points in January, registering 50.3 from a revised 53.9 in December. The Barometer was at its lowest level since May 2016, after a strong fourth quarter averaging 54.3, said MNI Indicators. New orders fell by 7.8 points dipping into contraction and dragging down the composite index. Production fell 2.3 […]
The Chicago Business Barometer fell 3 points in December to register 54.6. The Barometer has averaged 54.3 during fourth quarter, the highest in two years, and suggests that economic conditions have improved somewhat, said MNI Indicators. The index for New Orders lost 6.7 points giving up the gains it made in November that pushed the […]
The November Chicago Business Barometer, or Chicago PMI as it is also known, leapt 7 points from October to register 57.6. The reading was the highest since January 2015 with four of the five components of the index showing improvement. On a three month moving average the index increased two points to 54.1. New orders […]