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State of Logistics 2016: Pursue mutual benefit Manufacturing gets back on track in September, reports ISM Global demand for materials handling equipment to reach $176 billion by 2020 Q&A at the CSCMP conference with XPO’s Brad Jacobs 23rd Annual Survey of 3PL CEOs highlights various industry trends and dynamics More Logistics News How Lean is your Lean Quality Program? Avoid quality program bureaucracy that can sap logistics productivity and increase costs All Resources Coming off of its first decline after a five-month stretch of growth, manufacturing activity in September showed a bounce back of sorts, according to the most recent edition of the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) monthly Manufacturing Report on Business, which was issued today. The PMI, the index used by the ISM to measure growth, was 51.5 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), topping August’s 49.4, which was the first decline going back to February’s 49.5. September’s PMI was 1.2 percent above the 12-month average of 50.3. And the ISM said that the over all economy expanded in September for the 88th month in a row. Each of the report’s core four metrics, including the PMI, showed gains in September. New orders, which are often cited as the engine that drives manufacturing, showed a very strong rebound from August’s 7.8 percent decrease (its first since December 2015’s 49.8), with a 6.0 percent increase to 55.1 and nine industries reporting growth. And production headed up 3.2 percent to 52.8, helping in part to cancel out a 5.8 percent August decrease, which saw it at its lowest level since August 2012’s 49.5. Employment was up 1.2 percent to 49.7, making up for a 1.2 percent August shortfall. ISM said that of the 18 manufacturing sectors contributing to the report, seven reported growth, including Nonmetallic Mineral Products; […]