Econintersect: For the 22nd month in a row, the Institute of Supply Management (Chicago) survey for July 2011 says the windy city business has expanded. The reason the market looks at this report is that it is released before the national purchasing manager (ISM) reports. Econintersect does not put credence in surveys as they do not tend to be indicative of underlying economic activity at pivot points.
The report was characterized by substantial declines in employment and supplier activities.
BUSINESS ACTIVITY:
- EMPLOYMENT approached neutral;
- SUPPLIER DELIVERIES declined dramatically;
- ORDER BACKLOGS reversed the prior 3-month consecutive decline that brought the index into contraction.
BUYING POLICY:
- Lead times for both PRODUCTION MATERIEL and CAPITAL EQUIPMENT declined;
- Lead times for MRO SUPPLIES rose for the second month.
source: Chicago PMI
