Manufacturing recovery now appears to be here for good. There have been a lot of concern as to whether or not this recovery would be short lived and we could dip back into a recession. Shippers and carriers have both been waiting to see - now it appears that we have our answer.
The ISM Manufacturing Index has once again risen in the Month of March. The rate of 59.6 exceeded all 77 of Bloomberg's economists' predictions. Many manufacturers are realizing that their regular transportation carriers are now demanding higher rates in order to keep up with demand - there simply aren't enough trucks to go around.
This raise in the ISM is now the 8th month in a row. Not only is this a sign that our recovery is really happening, but the growth in the number of industries has broadened. In the past few months, 11 or 12 industries were growing while the remaining industries were still struggling. March showed that 17 of the 18 industries in manufacturing showed positive signs of growth. According to Norbert Ore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management's survey committee, "We have to go back to 2004 to find numbers that are similar to that".
Ore warns that this high growth will be hard to sustain and that it may actually not be desireable for us to continue at this pace. He also indicated that the housing industry is still struggling and will probably still remain slow.
Consumer confidence will continue to play a large part of the economic growth and that comes with the addition of jobs. Mr. Ore indicated that many manufacturers are beginning to hire and the "numbers will come as production picks up". He feels that there will be a dramatic increase in jobs in the later part of the year. Ore goes on, "We have to keep in mind that manufacturers lost about 2.1 million jobs, so there's a lot of ground that's been lost."
For the actual interview with Norbert Ore, watch the video below.
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