IHS Markit News Release- December 1, 2020

November data signaled a notable improvement in the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector, according to IHS Markit. Overall growth was supported by faster upturns in output and new orders amid stronger domestic and foreign client demand. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index posted 56.7 in November, up notably from 53.4 in October. The improvement in operating conditions was the sharpest since September 2014, as the headline PMI rose for the seventh successive month.

Despite a faster upturn in new orders, manufacturers registered a softer increase in employment. The rate of job creation was marginal overall, with some firms stating that short-term uncertainty over demand and efforts to rein in spending weighed on workforce numbers. On the price front, input prices increased markedly. Expectations regarding output over the coming year improved to the strongest rate since February 2015, with hopes of a vaccine for the coronavirus and sustained increases in client demand reportedly driving optimism.

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