PMI Manufacturing Report Filled With Multi-Year Lows

A ten-year low in export orders and a seven-year low for optimism headline an August PMI manufacturing report that is filled with multi-year lows. The index itself is 50.3 which is up 4 tenths from the mid-month flash but is 1 tenth lower than July's 50.4. This marks a nearly ten-year low for the index.

The sample reports order contraction among foreign customers that held down total order growth to what the report describes as "fractional" growth which is among the weakest of the last 10 years. Employment was flat in the month and the sample kept busy in the month by working down backlogs. Price indications are at nearly three-year lows for both inputs and selling prices. Expectations for future output are another 10-year low in today's report. Aside from foreign orders, the sample also cited deterioration across the auto sector during the month.

This report underscores the Federal Reserve's concerns that slowing global demand is hurting the domestic manufacturing sector.