US manufacturing activity shrinks for first time in 2025 as tariffs weigh on demand, hiring

US manufacturing activity shrinks for first time in 2025 as tariffs weigh on demand, hiring

Scramble to secure goods and materials from outside the US also drove factory prices higher. Read more at straitstimes.com.

US manufacturing activity shrinks for first time this year

The ISM’s manufacturing index declined 1.3 points last month to 49. The group’s price measure increased to the highest since June 2022.

Manufacturing PMI® At 49%; March 2025 Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business: Textile Mills Report Growth

TEMPE, Ariz. — April 1, 2025 — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in March after two consecutive months of expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®. The report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee: “The Manufacturin…

The purchasing managers' index fell to 49 points in March from 50.3 points in February.

US ISM Manufacturing PMI declines to 49 in March vs. 49.5 expected

The business activity in the US' manufacturing sector contracted in March, with the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropping to 49 from 50.3 in February.

The ISM manufacturing index, which measures the trend of the sector in the United States, fell to 49 in March from 50.3 in February. The figure is below analysts' expectations and signals the first contraction in manufacturing activity in 2025. In fact, a figure below 50 indicates a contraction.