WASHINGTON: US manufacturing activity slowed sharply in April to the slowest pace of the year, the ISM report released Wednesday showed.
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 50.7 in April from 51.3 in March, holding only slightly above 50, the line between growth and contraction.
The April number missed the analyst consensus estimate that the index would fall only to 51.0.
New orders and production rose, but employment and prices fell sharply, by more than four points.
"Comments from the panel indicate a range of strong/steady growth, to flat/declining volumes, depending upon the particular industry," said Bradley Holcomb, chair of the ISM committee in charge of the survey, in a statement.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries surveyed, 14 reported growth in April, led by furniture, printing and electrical equipment and appliances.
The three industries reporting contraction were wood products; food, beverage and tobacco products; and chemical products.
A report by payrolls firm ADP earlier in the day showed manufacturing shed 10,000 jobs in April, the only industry it surveyed where employment shrank.
Manufacturing, once an engine of the US recovery from the Great Recession, has been struggling amid tepid economic growth.
The impact of the January increases in payroll and other taxes and the government's sharp "sequester" spending cuts that began in March appeared to be affecting some manufacturing industries, according to the ISM survey.
"Slight uptick in business, but overall continuing slowdown in defense due to budget/sequester," said an executive in the computer and electronic products industry.
"Business can be described as flat at best," said a survey respondent in the food, beverage and tobacco industry.
But a machinery executive said "business continues at a steady pace," while a transportation equipment maker said "general business conditions and industrial markets remain strong."
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