Highlights
Moderate and steady growth is the indication from the ISM manufacturing report where readings pretty much match those of December. The January composite index rose to 54.1, safely over 50 to indicate monthly expansion and 1 point over December to indicate a slightly faster rate of expansion (prior revised). A key highlight of the report is the new orders index which rose nearly 3 points to 57.6 to indicate a little bit more than just a moderate rate of monthly expansion. In another positive, backlog orders increased 4.5 points to show a build at 52.5.

Growth for some factors did slow in the month but not very much including production, which is at 55.7, and employment, which is at 54.3 for a 5 tenths decline and what is not a positive indication for Friday's employment report. Price pressures for raw materials picked up slightly in the month to end three months of contraction.

The manufacturing sector is a bulwark of the economy and, despite troubles in Europe and slowing in Asia, continues to expand, underscored by a faster rate of expansion for new export orders which rose 2 points to 55.0. Despite the strength in orders, there's little initial reaction to today's report.

Market Consensus before announcement
The composite index from the ISM manufacturing survey in December improved to 53.9 from 52.7 in November, moving further into positive territory. Index levels above 50 indicate positive growth with higher levels indicating stronger rates of growth. The latest gain in the composite was led by increases in the production and employment indexes. Production jumped to 59.9 from 56.6 in November. Employment rose to 55.1 from 51.8. The boost in employment is likely a vote of confidence by manufacturing management for stronger demand in coming months.

2012 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/3 2/1 3/1 4/2 5/1 6/1 7/2 8/1 9/4 10/1 11/1 12/3 Release For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov