Automotive, spring stampings, military parts: the U.S. manufacturing industry covers a vast amount of products and uses, and all of it is surveyed periodically by the ISM. The ISM, or Institute of Supply Management, independently surveys incoming orders, new equipment deliveries, and, of course, production, and compares it against previous months and other countries. November’s report yielded results that came as a surprise to many, according to this MarketWatch report: not only was U.S. manufacturing booming, but it was outpacing the rest of the world.
While this is certainly good news, its unexpectedness yields some questions. Or, maybe, just one: “Why?” The article proffers a couple of theories, the most plausible of which are an expiring tax credit on new equipment, and increased auto production. Also mentioned is a corresponding and equally surprising lack of production in countries like Germany and Mexico. At Keats, our El Paso facility allows us to work closely with manufacturers in Mexico, and one of our, and their, key industries is the automotive sector. This partnership has always proven beneficial, in our view of the U.S. manufacturing picture, and we’re confident that this latest report will yield to signs of increased production at those facilities, while maintaining the strong trends here.