Monthly values
ISM Manufacturing PMI® — the last 3 months
Every month's reading, with the band the heatmap gives it. The chart above shows the same series in full.
| Month | Value | Band |
|---|
| Aug 2026 | 54.6 | Healthy reading |
| Jul 2026 | 55.6 | Very strong reading |
| Jun 2026 | 53.3 | Healthy reading |
Month-end readings of the same series the chart shows, from ism_mfg. Values are the current record, not point-in-time: a month that has since been revised shows its revised value.
What is the ISM Mfg PMI?
The ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) surveys supply chain executives at manufacturing companies across the United States, asking whether key business conditions — new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories — are better, worse, or the same compared to the prior month. The results are compiled into a single index where readings above 50 indicate expansion and below 50 indicate contraction.
The ISM Manufacturing PMI is a highly regarded leading economic indicator because purchasing managers have direct, real-time visibility into demand for their products. When new orders are rising, factories are expanding. When orders are falling, contraction typically follows within 1-3 months. The PMI is released on the first business day of each month for the prior month — making it one of the timeliest economic indicators available, and one of the most market-moving monthly data releases.
Values on this site are reproduced under an ISM® reprint license, collected forward from the June 2026 report — history here accumulates from that point (no pre-license backfill).
How We Color-Code the ISM Mfg PMI
Our heatmap colors each indicator based on historically significant thresholds:
Above 55
Strong expansion — manufacturing sector growing robustly
52 – 55
Solid expansion — healthy manufacturing growth
50 – 52
Just above the line — modest expansion
48 – 50
Contraction — manufacturing sector shrinking
Below 48
Sharp contraction — significant manufacturing weakness
Historical Extremes — What Happened Next?
When this indicator reaches extreme levels, history shows consistent patterns:
ISM Mfg PMI: 41.5
The sharpest single-month PMI collapse in history — followed by one of the fastest recoveries as factories reopened and pent-up demand surged.
ISM Mfg PMI: 61.3
The highest ISM Manufacturing reading in 14 years — coincided with peak tariff optimism and strong global demand before the trade war began impacting orders.
PMI below 50 for 16 months
The longest manufacturing contraction since 2000-2001 — driven by inventory destocking after the COVID supply chain boom, without causing a broader recession.
Investor Checklist — Current Reading
Based on the current ISM Mfg PMI reading of 54.6 (Positive):
✓Healthy manufacturing growth — supportive for broad equity markets
✓Industrial and materials sectors benefit most in this environment
ℹMonitor new orders sub-index — it leads the headline PMI by 1-2 months
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a PMI above 50 actually mean?
A PMI above 50 means that more purchasing managers reported improvement than deterioration in the prior month. For example, a PMI of 52 means that approximately 52% of respondents reported better conditions while 48% reported worse. The further above or below 50, the stronger the expansion or contraction signal.
Which sub-index of the ISM report should investors watch most closely?
The New Orders sub-index is the most forward-looking component — it leads the headline PMI by 1-2 months. When new orders are rising, production and employment follow. When new orders fall sharply, the headline PMI typically declines in subsequent months. The Prices Paid sub-index is useful for inflation tracking.
How does ISM Manufacturing relate to the overall economy?
Manufacturing directly accounts for only about 11% of US GDP, but the PMI has outsized predictive power because manufacturing is highly cyclical and responds quickly to changes in demand. Manufacturing often leads the broader economy into and out of recessions. The ISM Services PMI (which covers 80%+ of the economy) is increasingly important for overall economic assessment.
Can the economy be healthy while manufacturing is contracting?
Yes — the 2022-2023 period demonstrated this clearly. Manufacturing contracted for 16 consecutive months while the broader economy continued growing, driven by a robust services sector. In an increasingly service-oriented economy, sustained manufacturing contraction is less automatically recessionary than it was historically.
Why does the ISM report move markets so much?
The ISM Manufacturing PMI is released on the first business day of each month — making it one of the very first economic data points investors receive for the prior month. Its timeliness and reliability as a leading indicator means it consistently moves markets, particularly for industrial stocks, commodity prices, and Treasury yields.
What investors are searching about this indicator right now, answered using current news and data.
1How strong is manufacturing right now?
The Manufacturing PMI® registered 55.6% in July, 2.3 percentage points above the June figure and the highest reading since May 2022 (55.9%). Manufacturing sector expanded for the seventh consecutive month, according to the nation's supply executives in the latest ISM Manufacturing PMI Report.
2Which manufacturing industries are doing well?
Of the six largest manufacturing industries, four (Transportation Equipment; Machinery; Computer & Electronic Products; and Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products) expanded in July. Favorable demand environment driven by growth in the semiconductor, AI, advanced packaging and high-performance computing markets, with strong sales growth and continued investment in manufacturing capacity, technology and customer-support capabilities.
3Is manufacturing expansion going to continue?
Most future indicators jumped higher this month, suggesting widespread expectations for overall growth over the next six months, according to the Philadelphia Fed's August survey. Recent July ISM Manufacturing PMI strength at 55.6, the highest since May 2022 and well above the 54.0 consensus, anchors trader expectations for August around the mid-55 level.
4What are the risks to manufacturing?
Both price indexes declined this month but remained elevated, according to the Philadelphia Fed's August Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. 20% of the sector's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted in July, compared to 5% in June.
5What does the current manufacturing PMI reading tell us about economic growth?
The Manufacturing PMI registered 55.6 percent in July, 2.3 percentage points above the June figure and the highest reading since May 2022. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 21st month in a row. A Manufacturing PMI above 47.5 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.