PMI drops in March to lowest level since May 2013

Bellwether manufacturing index shows slowing growth for the fifth straight month, though the reading over 50% marks is the 27th consecutive month of expansion in manufacturing.    The U.S. manufacturing industry saw growth in March for the 27th consecutive month, but that growth was the lowest since May 2013, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index released this week.
   The bellwether Purchasing Managers Index had a reading of 51.5 percent in March, a decrease from 52.9 percent in February and the fifth consecutive month of slowing growth. An index reading over 50 indicates manufacturing is expanding.
   Of the 18 manufacturing industries the index tracks, 10 reported growth in March: paper products, wood products, transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, nonmetallic mineral products, machinery, chemical products, primary metals, food, beverage and tobacco products, and computer and electronic products.