Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

US manufacturing activity at highest levels in two years

U.S. manufacturing posted a strong gain in October to the highest level in two years even as coronavirus cases were beginning to surge again in many parts of the country

Via AP news wire
Monday 02 November 2020 10:21 EST
Economy-Manufacturing
Economy-Manufacturing (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

U.S. manufacturing posted a strong gain in October to the highest level in two years even as coronavirus cases have begun to surge again in many parts of the country

The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Monday that its manufacturing index rose by 3.9 percentage-points to a reading of 59.3% last month, up from 55.4% in September.

It was the highest level for this closely watched barometer of manufacturing health since September 2018. Any reading above 50 signals that manufacturing is expanding.

The gauge had fallen into recession territory from March through May as much of the country shut down in an effort to contain the coronavirus.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in