According to the Institute for Manufacturing’s (ISM) latest Report On Business, economic activity in the manufacturing sector hiccupped in July for the ninth consecutive month of declines following a 28-month period of growth, said the nation's supply executives.
Nationwide new export orders slipped to 46.2 from 47.3 in June, while imports increased slightly to 49.6 in July, up from 4.93 in June.
In the nation’s Heartland, manufacturing and international trade numbers were dismal with the overall manufacturing index falling to its lowest level since the last recession in 2020. Trade numbers were once again weak for the month with new export orders slumping to 30.8 from June’s 42.3. July imports nosedived to 35.3 from June’s 58.3.
“This is the lowest overall reading since the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020,” said Ernie Goss PhD, director of Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group and the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics in the Heider College of Business.