Manufacturing in U.S. Expanded Less Than Forecast in March
By Shobhana Chandra - Apr 1, 2013
Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded less than forecast in March as factories slowed production and orders waned.
The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index fell to 51.3 from the prior month’s 54.2 that was the highest since June 2011, the Tempe, Arizona-based group’s figures showed today. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 54. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between growth and contraction.
Limited improvement in the global economy and concern about the effects on the U.S. expansion from automatic cuts in federal spending may be prompting some companies to cut back. At the same time, progress in the housing industry and resilient consumer demand will help to cushion the hit, keeping American factories running.
“It’s a mixed picture,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed- income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, whose forecast of 51.6 was the lowest in the Bloomberg survey. “It highlights the downside of reduced government spending but underscores a fairly stable private sector.”
The 2.9-point decline in the factory gauge was the biggest since July 2011. The median forecast was based on projections from 69 economists in the Bloomberg survey, and estimates ranged from 51.6 to 55.
MORE...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-01/ism-index-of-u-s-manufacturing-decreased-to-51-3-in-march.html
