The latest monthly supply survey conducted by the Institute for Supply Management showed strong economic indicators for the nation's manufacturing sector in January.
The ISM Purchasing Managers' Index increased from 54.5 percent in December to 56 percent in the first month of 2017, according to the poll of supply executives. The index increased for the fifth consecutive month and remained above 50 percent, which reflects growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector.
The index for new orders edged up 0.1 percentage points last month to 60.4 percent, while the production index increased by 2 percentage points to 61.4 percent.
"The PMI, new orders and production indexes all registered their highest levels since November of 2014, and comments from the panel are generally positive regarding demand levels and business conditions," said ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee Chairman Bradley Holcomb.
Manufacturing employment increased for the fourth consecutive month and accelerated in January as the employment index climbed 3.3 percentage points to 56.1 percent.
Order backlogs contracted for the seventh month in a row and inventories declined for the 19th consecutive month, but both indexes inched closer to the 50 percent threshold last month. Exports increased in January while imports remained flat compared to December.
The prices index, meanwhile, increased by 3.5 percentage points to 69 percent.
