PMI Manufacturing Sample Accelerates

The PMI manufacturing sample is reporting noticeable acceleration in activity so far this month while the services sample is reporting steady and moderate growth. The composite, at 54.5 for the January flash, is up 1 tenth from December's final and up nearly a point from the December flash.

Strength is centered in manufacturing where the index, at 54.9, is up about a point from both December's flash and final. Production in this sample is showing special strength with growth in new orders and employment also on the rise. Optimism in the sample is also climbing.

Services are steady, at 54.2 which is down slightly from December's final but up nearly a point from December's flash. New orders here are showing less strength though output is solid. Business expectations for this sample are up only slightly as is hiring.

Other than last week's nosedive in consumer sentiment, the government shutdown, now extending more than a month, has yet to upend the economic data which are increasingly pointing to January as a solid and respectable month of growth.