WASHINGTON, May 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector plunged to an 11-year low in Apr, amid mounting COVID-19 fallout and weak global energy markets, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell by 7.6 percentage points to 41.5 percent in Apr, the lowest since Apr, 2009. Any reading below 50 percent indicates the manufacturing sector is generally contracting.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, only paper products and food, beverage and tobacco products reported growth, according to the ISM.
“The PMI indicates a level of manufacturing-sector contraction, not seen since Apr, 2009, with a strongly negative trajectory,” Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM’s manufacturing business survey committee, said in a statement.
“The virus pandemic and global energy market weakness continue to impact all manufacturing sectors for the second straight month,” Fiore said.
“Our refinery is losing money making gasoline, due to the falling demand,” said an executive from the industry of petroleum & coal products, according to the ISM.
The manufacturing contraction came, after the Commerce Department reported that, U.S. real gross domestic product in the first quarter contracted at an annual rate of 4.8 percent, amid COVID-19 fallout, the biggest quarterly decline since the 2008 financial crisis.
