U.S. Manufacturing Progress Slowed in December to 11-Month Low

Mannequin 12 months 2021 Ford Ranger vehicles on the meeting line at Michigan Meeting, Monday, June 14, 2021, in Wayne, MI.

AP Photograph/Carlos Osorio

WASHINGTON (AP) — Progress in U.S. manufacturing slowed in December to an 11-month low with firms nonetheless combating provide chain issues.

The Institute for Provide Administration, a commerce group of buying managers, reported Tuesday that its index of producing exercise fell to a studying of 58.7 in December, 2.4 share factors under the November studying of 61.1.

Any studying above 50 signifies development within the manufacturing sector which has recorded 19 straight months of development going again to the spring of 2020 when the pandemic hit. The December studying was the bottom since an identical 58.7 in January 2021.

The slowdown in December mirrored a decline in each new orders and in manufacturing.

Whereas the December efficiency nonetheless mirrored energy in manufacturing, there have been issues that the present international surge in COVID-19 circumstances, largely the extremely infectious omicron variant, might additional depress manufacturing in coming months.

Omicron was solely recognized in late November and rapidly turned the dominant virus.

“The surge in home virus circumstances to greater than 1 million per day might deal a extra vital blow to manufacturing output as vital numbers of staff are compelled to remain house,” mentioned Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.