A list of commodities in short supply is available at the end of this report. The rate of liquidation of manufacturers' inventories accelerated in April as the Inventories Index registered 39.6 percent, down from the 44.2 percent reported in March. The Inventories Index has been under 50 percent for 15 consecutive months. NAPM s Manufacturing Employment Index fell below 50 percent in April for the seventh consecutive month. The index registered 38.1 percent in April compared to 40.4 percent in March, a decrease of 2.3 percentage points.
Chemicals is the only industry indicating growth in employment during the month.
43.0 Prices NAPM s Prices Index indicates manufacturers paid lower prices in April. With the index at 48.9 percent, this marks the second consecutive time the index has been below 50 percent after 22 consecutive months of higher prices. The index is 1 percentage point lower than March s 49.9 percent. A list of commodities up in price and down in price is available at the end of this report. NAPM's New Export Orders Index for April registered 47.3 percent, 3.3 percentage points lower than March s index of 50.6 percent.