The following is an unedited transcript of the news release from Institute for Supply Management.


TOP PERFORMING INDUSTRIES

The seven industries reporting growth in February — listed in order — are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Wood Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Primary Metals; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Transportation Equipment. The industries reporting contraction in February are: Furniture & Related Products; Textile Mills; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Fabricated Mineral Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Machinery; and Chemical Products.

WHAT RESPONDENTS ARE SAYING ...

""""""""Every year the Chinese New Year break has a bigger impact on January and February."""""""" (Machinery)
""""""""Business is good, but there is continued pressure on margins."""""""" (Primary Metals)
""""""""Industry appears to be recovering."""""""" (Transportation Equipment)
""""""""Plastic prices still on the rise."""""""" (Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products)
""""""""Business continues to be sluggish."""""""" (Furniture & Related Products)

COMMODITIES REPORTED UP/DOWN IN PRICE and IN SHORT SUPPLY

Commodities Up in Price

Aluminum; Chemicals (2); Copper; Corn (2); Natural Gas (4); Plastic Resins (2); Polyethylene; Polypropylene; Steel (2); Structural Steel; Sulfur; and Sulfuric Acid (4).

Commodities Down in Price

Methanol is the only commodity reported down in price.

Commodities in Short Supply

No commodities are reported in short supply.

PMI

Manufacturing failed to grow in February as the PMI registered 48.3 percent, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points when compared to January''s seasonally adjusted reading of 50.7 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.

A PMI in excess of 41.1 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Therefore, the PMI indicates the overall economy is growing and the manufacturing sector is contracting at this time. Ore stated, """"""""The past relationship between the PMI and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI for January and February (49.5 percent) corresponds to a 2.6 percent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, if the PMI for February (48.3 percent) is annualized, it corresponds to a 2.3 percent increase in real GDP annually.""""""""

New Orders

ISM''s New Orders Index registered 49.1 percent in February. The index is 0.4 percentage point lower than the seasonally adjusted 49.5 percent reported in January. A New Orders Index above 51.6 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Census Bureau''s series on manufacturing orders (in constant 2000 dollars).

Eight industries reported increases during February: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Primary Metals; Computer & Electronic Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Chemical Products. The industries that reported decreases during February are: Textile Mills; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Furniture & Related Products; Paper Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Transportation Equipment; and Machinery.

Production