USA: Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), manufacturing

Definition: The manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is an indicator of economic health for the manufacturing sector. The purpose of the PMI is to provide information about current business conditions to company decision makers, analysts and purchasing managers. Each country PMI survey for the manufacturing sector is based on questionnaire responses that cover the following economic variables: output, new orders, new export orders, backlogs of work, output prices, input prices, suppliers’ delivery times, stocks of finished goods, quantity of purchases, stocks of purchases, employment, future output. The manufacturing PMI is a number from 0 to 100. A PMI above 50 represents an expansion when compared with the previous month. A PMI reading under 50 represents a contraction, and a reading at 50 indicates no change.