April ISM manufacturing fell to 60.4 from 61.2, a 4 month low barely but was almost 1 pt above today’s estimate of 59.5 which trended below 60 after the slightly less than expected Chicago PMI on Friday. New Orders fell to 61.7 from 63.3 but Backlogs spiked to 61 from 52.5. Manufacturer Inventories rose almost 6 pts to the most since Nov while Customer inventories rose just 1 pt. The important Employment component fell a touch to 62.7 from 63 but is still at a healthy level. Export Orders rose 6 pts to 62. Prices Paid rose .5 to 85.5, the highest since July ’08. Positively, of the 18 industries surveyed, 17 reported growth. Bottom line, mfr’s still see a very healthy outlook, particularly those with overseas exposure but “mfr’s are experiencing significant cost pressures from commodities and other inputs,” said ISM. Today’s figure reconciles the mixed regional surveys that reflected still strength but some moderation in certain areas.
