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Growth in the manufacturing sector remained strong in February, according to data issued today in the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) monthly Manufacturing Report on Business. The February PMI, the index used by the ISM to measure growth, came in a 57.7 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), which was 1.7 percent ahead of January, marking the highest monthly PMI reading going back to August 2014’s 57.9. The PMI has now grown for the last six months, with the February PMI 4.9 percent higher than the 12-month average of 52.8 and the over all economy growing for the 93rd straight month. ISM said that 17 of the 18 manufacturing sectors contributing to the report reported growth in February, including: Textile Mills; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Machinery; Computer & Electronic Products; Primary Metals; Plastics & Rubber Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Chemical Products; Paper Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Transportation Equipment; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Wood Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Printing & Related Support Activities; Petroleum & Coal Products; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing, with Furniture & Related Products the lone contracting sector. Including the PMI, three of the report’s other key metrics were up in January. New orders, which are viewed as the engine driving manufacturing, jumped up 4.7 percent to 65.1, matching the previous high of 65.1 recorded in December 2013 while growing for the sixth month in a row. Production saw a 1.5 percent gain to 62.9 for its sixth straight month of growth and at its highest level since March 2011’s 64.2. Employment was the lone metric to show a decrease from January to February, but even though it was down 1.9 percent to 54.2, it remained on the right side of growth for the fifth straight month. Comments submitted by ISM member respondents […]