ISM® Report On Business®

Customers’ Inventories

Analysis by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M. , Chair of the Institute for Supply Management ® Manufacturing Business Survey Committee

ISM’s Customers’ Inventories Index registered 51.3 percent. The seven industries reporting customers’ inventories as too high in April are, in order: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Paper Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Furniture & Related Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Fabricated Metal Products; and Plastics & Rubber Products.

Prices

The ISM Prices Index registered 53.2 percent. In April, nine industries — in the following order — reported paying increased prices for raw materials: Petroleum & Coal Products; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Machinery; Transportation Equipment; Miscellaneous Manufacturing‡; Fabricated Metal Products; and Computer & Electronic Products.

Backlog of Orders

ISM’s Backlog of Orders Index registered 43.1 percent. Three industries reported growth in order backlogs in April: Printing & Related Support Activities; Textile Mills; and Paper Products.

New Export Orders

ISM’s New Export Orders Index registered 49.8 percent. Five industries reported growth in new export orders in April: Printing & Related Support Activities; Wood Products; Paper Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing‡

Imports

ISM’s Imports Index registered 49.9 percent. The six industries reporting an increase in import volumes in April — in the following order — are: Printing & Related Support Activities; Textile Mills; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Miscellaneous Manufacturing‡; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Primar y Metals.