WASHINGTON: The US manufacturing sector saw activity slow for the fourth consecutive month in February, in part due to the West Coast port slowdown, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday.
The ISM manufacturing purchasing managers index dropped to 52.9 in February, still above the 50 level that signifies growth but slower than January's reading of 53.5.
"Comments from the panel express a growing level of concern over the West Coast dock slowdown, negatively impacting exports and imports and requiring workarounds and added costs," ISM said. The dock strike ended February 21.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries surveyed, 12 reported growth.
Most of the index's components marked a slowdown: Growth eased in new orders, production, employment, imports and customers' inventories.
Inventories and supplier deliveries expanded at a modestly faster pace.
Falling energy prices also hit some manufacturers.
"Lower oil and natural gas prices continue to put pressure on our revenues. We continue to pursue capital budget cuts and rate reduction efforts with our suppliers," said a manager in the petroleum and coal products sector.
Looking ahead, Robert Brusca of FAO Economics said there were still residual effects of the ports slowdown going into March.
The strike "still will have lingering effects on US data," he said.
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