The market was expecting a value of 51.0 versus the reported value of 51.6. A number below 50 indicates contraction. This value is slightly better than November’s 50.4 and October’s 49.9.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers reported the Chicago Business Barometer was up for a third month, lumbering along since September’s 3 year low. The Business Barometer was guided higher almost exclusively by a sizable advance in New Orders. In spite of the rise in the Chicago Business Barometer, five of the seven business activity indexes declined in December, most significantly the Employment Index.
BUSINESS ACTIVITY:
• NEW ORDERS: Biggest advance in 19 months;
• EMPLOYMENT: Contracted to 3 year low;
• ORDER BACKLOGS: Fifth consecutive month in contraction.BUYING POLICY:
• CAPITAL EQUIPMENT: Near the 28 month low.
The Chicago ISM is important as it is a window into the national ISM reports which will be issued shortly. When you compare the graph below of the ISM Manufacturing Index against the Chicago PMI – you can see there is a general correlation in trends, but not necessarily correlation in values.
source and read the full report: Chicago PMI