U.S. Factory Growth Hit By Bidenflation Surge and Omicron WaveJohn Carney 1 Feb 2022
U.S. manufacturers were hit by a torrent of higher prices, weaker customer demand, slower supplier deliveries, shortages of raw materials, and omicron-fueled labor scarcity that slowed production in January, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management.
ISM said that its inflation measure showed prices rising at a faster rate in January after a brief respite in December, pushing the price index to 76.1 percent. This is the 20th month in a rose of increasing prices and the 17th consecutive month in which its index for prices has been above 60 percent.
When the prices index is above 52.6 percent, that typically indicates an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index for intermediate materials, a measure of inflation that looks at prices paid for goods by firms that transform them into products for final sale to businesses, consumers, and governments.
All of the 17 manufacturing industries tracked by ISM reported paying higher prices for raw materials. Ongoing scarcity helped push prices higher for everything from aluminum and steel to cardboard and packaging material to lumber and vegetable oils, ISM said.
The index of supplier deliveries dipped to 64.6 percent from 64.9 percent in December, indicating slower deliveries. All of the six top manufacturing industries reported slower deliveries. But the pace of the slowdown was itself slower, indicating a possible leveling off. ISM’s Timothy Fiore said supplier expected to be back on track in February and moving toward a better supply-and-demand balance in March.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/02/01/u-s-factory-growth-hit-by-bidenflation-surge-and-omicron-wave/
