Economy: March 2026

Monday, March 02, 2026

ISM Manufacturing Index for FEBRUARY 2026

The Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) released their Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI®) for February, 2026:

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Predicted: 52.0%

Actual: 52.4% (-0.2 point month-on-month change)

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Previous month: 52.6%

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Every month, the ISM surveys purchasing and supply executives at hundreds of companies across the country who are involved in manufacturing in some form. The resulting index is watched closely by academics, economists and investors because manufacturing accounts for about 12% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The PMI is a reliable barometer of U.S. manufacturing: A PMI above 50% implies that U.S. manufacturing expanded during the month specified, while a reading below 50% implies that the made-in-the-USA sector contracted.

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From Today's Report:

"...Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the second straight month but only the third time in 40 months, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report....."

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The Following Is A Sampling Of Quotes
From A Diverse Pool Of U.S. Manufacturers:

“Today, American produced commodities like steel and aluminum are the highest priced in the world, by far. Hence, the Section 232 tariff policy is having the exact opposite effect of their intention on an American manufacturer like us: It is raising prices while lowering demand and profitability.”
[Transportation Equipment]

“Economic activity seems to be also challenging for this year. Some recovery in certain sectors in the economy but still lot of cost pressures and soft demand. Cost discipline is the priority.”
[Chemical Products]

“January sales continued to provide positive indications for growth opportunities. Data center, health care, and food and beverages remain positive growth areas. We continue to receive price increase notifications from suppliers based on unsupported tariff claims and are expanding corporate staff to support sales growth.”
[Chemical Products]

“South American instability has begun to be a factor for our suppliers and inventory management.”
[Petroleum & Coal Products]

“Pricing for outside purchases has stabilized. We are spending significant effort to work with our supply base to mitigate tariff impacts. Backlog is at a healthy level.”
[Miscellaneous Manufacturing]

“Overall orders and supply footprint are improving. As we review customer demand, we are also taking several categories of established materials and supplies out to RFP for review and cost improvements -- in particular, printed circuit assemblies, plastics, sheet metal assemblies and motorized assemblies. This will help ease the burden of tariff and customer impacts as we broaden our supplier base to a more regional footprint.”
[Computer & Electronic Products]

“Continue to be impacted by tariffs. Seeing metals prices rise too. Business is steady, but domestic growth is slower than expected.”
[Computer & Electronic Products]

“Business was slow in January. Many orders pulled into end of 2025 to meet revenue goals. Order book is strong going forward.”
[Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components]

“Tariff policy changes affect total acquisition costs and purchasing source decisions. So far this year, tariff instability still exists. Due to the tariffs, most raw materials used in manufacturing, such as steel and wire, need to be sourced domestically, and the cost keeps going up.”
[Machinery]

“Business is improving by the week. Backlog is growing, and new opportunities are everywhere. Monthly shipments are still lower than planned, but improving. Over the past five years, we spent thousands trying to attract new employees and had almost zero responses. In the last six months, however, we’ve been able to hire experienced engineers, computer numerical control (CNC) operators, and young people wanting to become CNC machinists.”
[Fabricated Metal Products]

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