Chicago Purchasing Managers Back to Growth in November

Friday’s reading from the Chicago Purchasing Managers managed to get back above the breakeven line into positive territory. The adjusted index rose to 50.4 in November, versus 49.9 in October. Bloomberg was calling for a reading of 50.3.

The breakdown is one which might not sound too positive because the New Orders Index went to 45.3 in November, versus 50.6 in October. The big gains were seen in the other readings of employment, deliveries and prices paid.

• The biggest gain was in the Prices Paid Index, rising to 70.1 in November versus 59.3 in October.
• The employment reading jumped to 55.2 versus 50.3 in October.
• Supplier Deliveries rose to 57.3 in November versus 50.4 in October.

Another issue to consider here is that this is just one regional purchasing managers index. Still, the Midwest reading is often used as a barometer or prelude to the larger national ISM readings. This survey from Chicago covers manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms, so it is generally considered to not be directly comparable to pure manufacturing surveys.

JON C. OGG