The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) has released its November services purchasing managers' index (PMI). The headline composite index is at 52.1, worse than the forecast of 55.5. The latest reading moves the index back into expansion territory for 51st time in the past 54 months.
Here is an excerpt from the report summary:
Miller continues, “The decrease in the Services PMI® in November was driven by decreases in each of the four directly impacting subindexes (Business Activity, New Orders, Employment and Supplier Deliveries). However, 14 industries reported business activity growth, and 13 indicated new orders expansion; both figures are improvements compared to October. This reinforces the view over the last several months that the services sector has returned to sustained growth. Generally, respondents’ comments were neutral to positive, and both positive and negative impacts were attributed to seasonality. Not surprisingly, election ramifications and tariffs were mentioned often, with cautionary outlooks related to the potential impact on respondents’ specific industries.”
Unlike its much older kin, the ISM manufacturing series, there is relatively little history for ISM's non-manufacturing data, especially for the headline composite Index, which dates from 2008. The chart below shows the non-manufacturing composite.
