The NAPM Employment Index is at 38.1 percent for April, a decrease of 2.3 percentage points when compared to the 40.4 percent reported in March. NAPM's Prices Index in April is 48.9 percent, a decrease of one percentage point from April s 49.9 percent. NAPM's Inventories Index is at 39.6 percent indicating a faster rate of inventory liquidation when compared to March s 44.2 percent. NAPM's New Export Orders Index registered 47.3 percent, down from March s 50.6 percent. Imports of materials by manufacturers continued to decline as NAPM's Imports Index is 47.2 percent in April, down from March s 49.1 percent.
Major concerns are energy costs and softening demand across many markets.
This is the ninth consecutive month that the manufacturing sector has failed to grow. A PMI in excess of 42.7 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. The April PMI indicates a small amount of growth in the overall economy while the manufacturing sector continues to decline. 56.4 Production NAPM's Production Index rose to 42.9 percent in April up slightly from 42.8 percent in March. This is the fifth consecutive month that the index has fallen below 50 percent.