American Manufacturing Slows for 9th Consecutive Month

The American manufacturing sector contracted for the ninth month in a row during November as it faced flagging order volumes, higher-priced inputs and cost pressures related to the United States government’s tariff policies.

That’s according to the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) purchasing managers index (PMI) report, which registered 48.2 percent last month—a 0.5 percent decrease from the 48.7 percent seen in October.

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New orders fell for a third consecutive month in November to 47.4 percent, while the PMI’s production index grew slightly, by 3.2 percentage points, to 51.4 percent.

Pricing, too, is on the rise, up 0.5 percent last month and registering at 58.5 percent. Meanwhile, order backlogs diminished by 3.9 percentage points month over month to 44 percent, and employment contracted 2 points to 44 percent from October’s 46 percent.

“In November, U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at a faster rate, with pullbacks in supplier deliveries, new orders and employment leading to the 0.5-percentage point decrease of the Manufacturing PMI,” said Susan Spence, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

At a press briefing on Monday, Spence noted that November’s PMI represented “another month of faster contraction” that missed analyst estimates of 48.8 percent to 49 percent. While there have been “one-time improvements” in certain areas, like the production index, “they aren’t sticking.”

“These short bursts flow through the supply chain, then fade. The system isn’t sustaining growth,” she said. “Production rose this month, but that’s a lagging effect from a brief new order uptick earlier in the fall. Unless we see sustained gains in new orders, that growth won’t last.”

Even as production hopped into expansion territory, employment contracted at a faster pace, with 67 percent of the supply executives queried saying that “managing head counts is still the norm at their companies, as opposed to hiring.”

According to Spence, there’s a clear culprit for these changes. “The heart of this is tariffs. That’s what our panelists are telling us consistently, for months.”

American producers are being hit hard by the very policies touted as drivers for a domestic resurgence. “Despite the goal of reshoring, we’re not seeing it,” Spence added, noting that for every positive comment about new orders, there was an average of 1.2 comments from supply executives “expressing concern about near-term demand, driven primarily by tariff costs and uncertainty.”

Among the nine hardest hit industries that reported a downturn in new orders were textile mills, apparel producers and purveyors of leather products, along with those that manufacture goods made from wood, paper, fabricated metal, petroleum and coal, minerals, chemicals and transportation equipment.

As a result, “67 percent of our panelists are managing labor—freezes and attrition, not hiring,” Spence said. “The ratio of negative to positive comments on hiring is 3.4 to 1. It’s a darkening trend.”

Despite its place in an American manufacturing sector facing brutal hardship, Boston-based athleticwear giant New Balance is trying to find the light.

On Monday, the only athletic footwear manufacturer to maintain a U.S. production base released its inaugural MADE in USA Economic and Social Footprint report, which analyzed the impacts of its multi-decade efforts to grow domestic manufacturing. Focused on the brand’s 2023 and 2024 activities, the report highlights New Balance’s progress at creating jobs and bolstering GDP.

Over the past four years, the company has invested $155 million in expanding its U.S. factories and bringing in advanced technologies to spur automated production at scale while preserving skilled craftsmanship. Those five facilities are located in Skowhegan and Norway, Maine; Lawrence and Methuen, Mass. and a soon-to-open factory in Londonderry, N.H.

The brand’s domestically produced product contains material and component inputs made 70 percent or more in the U.S., but it still makes up a “limited portion of New Balance’s U.S. sales,” the brand said.

“Our commitment to American manufacturing, which we call MADE, has always been an integral part of our company heritage and culture,” president and CEO Joe Preston said. “With this report, I’m proud to share that our ongoing MADE investments are a key piece of our business success that has driven significant contributions to the U.S. economy and our New England communities.”

Regional impact is highlighted heavily in the report, especially as it relates to economic growth and employment. Last year, the company reports that its overall business contributed $3.1 billion to the American economy, up 23 percent from 2023, with $479 million of that impact attributed to its U.S. MADE operations.

To date, the company employs 5,000 workers across the U.S., including 1,200 within its MADE business. On average in 2024, each MADE employee’s work supported 2.5 additional American jobs through adjacent or supporting industries.