Purchasing Managers Index shows Southeast Michigan economy slowed in November
The Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for November is at 51.9, dropping seven points from the October PMI of 58.9 and indicating slowing growth in the Southeast Michigan economy. Declines in production activity, new orders and hiring were the factors contributing to this month’s decrease.
Production, while still showing some growth at 51.4, decreased more than seven points from 58.8 last month. New orders dropped sharply, decreasing nearly 15 points from 64.7 to the threshold index of 50. The Employment Index dropped slightly from 58.8 to 55.7. The Commodity Prices Index was nearly unchanged at 51.4.
“A PMI value greater than 50 generally suggests an expanding economy, so at 51.9 the Southeast Michigan economy still experienced growth this month, but at a significantly slower rate than last month,” said Ken Doherty, assistant vice president for procurement and strategic sourcing at Wayne State University and a member of the Southeast Michigan chapter of the Institute for Supply Management.
“Purchasing managers expressed a variety of concerns about the economic environment over the next six months,” said Nitin Paranjpe, a supply chain faculty member at Wayne State University’s School of Business Administration who interpreted the results of the purchasing managers survey. “The ‘fiscal cliff,’ tax reform, economic conditions in Europe, China and the Middle East; and the implementation of new health care laws were some of the concerns they shared in our survey.”
The confidence element of the PMI survey indicated that 51.4 percent of purchasing managers presume the economy will remain the same over the next six months, 21.6 percent expect more stability, and 27 percent expect less stability.
The Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index is a research partnership between Wayne State University’s School of Business Administration and the Institute for Supply Management – Southeast Michigan.
