S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI in United States

The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (formerly IHS Markit) is a diffusion index built from a survey of around 800 purchasing managers in US manufacturing. A reading above 50 signals expansion; below 50, contraction. Each month there is a flash (preliminary) reading, based on most of the responses, and a final one that revises it.

A weighted composite of five sub-indices: new orders (30%), output (25%), employment (20%), suppliers' delivery times (15%) and stocks of purchases (10%). The data are seasonally adjusted.

The flash reading is one of the first signals of the month on the US industrial cycle and moves markets more than the final print, which usually confirms it. It complements the ISM manufacturing index. A strong reading tends to support the dollar and Treasury yields; a weak one does the opposite.

A qualitative survey that measures the direction of change, not its magnitude. It can diverge from the ISM manufacturing index, which uses a different sample and methodology, so the two should not be conflated.