- Prior was 49.1
- Prices paid 58.0 vs 61.5 expected (prior 61.9)
- Employment 46.0 vs 45.3 prior
- New orders 49.4 vs 48.9 prior
- Imports 45.4 vs 44.7 prior
- Production 48.2 vs 51.0 prior
US stock markets opened higher but the S&P 500 fell to flat shortly before this report. There was also some pre-report selling in USD/JPY that continued afterwards but it’s been limited to about 15 pips.
Comments in the report:
- “Business continues to remain difficult, as customers are cancelling
and reducing orders due to uncertainty in the global economic
environment and regarding the ever-changing tariff landscape.” (Chemical
Products) - “Decrease in domestic demand for finished products has resulted in
slower manufacturing and an increase of raw material in inventory.”
(Petroleum & Coal Products) - “In general, business is really strained. Money is sitting tighter,
and geopolitical changes add to the uncertainty/risk factor. Even
medical fields are feeling the pressure.” (Miscellaneous Manufacturing) - “Sales continue to underperform in our automotive OEM and industrial
divisions. Our aerospace and automotive aftermarket are the only areas
performing slightly above budget. This is the third month of
lower-than-expected sales, and the remainder of the year outlook is not
looking better. Sales are expected to be slightly less than in 2024.”
(Fabricated Metal Products) - “Tariffs continue to be a large impact to our business. The products
we import are not readily manufactured in the U.S., so attempts to
reshore have been unsuccessful. Overall, prices on all products have
gone up, some significantly. We are trying to keep up with the wild
fluctuations and pass along what costs we can to our customers.”
(Machinery) - “The commercial vehicle (CV) market remains depressed as customers
continue to delay vehicle purchases. Uncertainty in price and
transportation demand remains the center of attention. U.S. trade policy
and reciprocal actions by China in the form of export controls on rare
earths and semiconductors, as well as ocean freight carrier
restrictions, have once again caused a lot of stress in supply lines.
The CV industry is now bracing for the next round of tariffs focused on
commercials vehicles, scheduled to begin on November 1.” (Transportation
Equipment) - “The tariff trade war has negatively impacted agricultural export
markets, driving down demand and price. This negatively impacts farmer
revenue and the likelihood of farmers investing in new equipment.”
(Machinery) - “The unpredictability of the tariff situation continues to cause
havoc and uncertainty on future pricing/cost. But even with the tariffs,
the cost to import in many cases is still more attractive than sourcing
within the U.S. Challenges with tariffs on production equipment
necessary for internal production makes it difficult to justify
expansion of capacity.” (Computer & Electronic Products) - “Volatility in some of our highly exposed commodity markets has
tempered a bit, thanks to improved weather conditions and overall
downward pressure on pricing. Tariffs continue to remain difficult to
quantify, manage and deal with in general, since they continue to impact
us day-to-day and our bottom line.” (Food, Beverage & Tobacco
Products) - “Wonder has turned to concern regarding how the tariff threats are
affecting our business. Orders are down across most divisions, and we’ve
lowered our financial expectations for 2025.” (Chemical Products)
This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.
