While the Institute for Supply Management^® reported a slight uptick to a 43.1 percent PMI for US manufacturers in May, Italy saw a strong rebound from an all-time low of 31.1 in April to 45.4 in May, which pushed the country above their six-month PMI moving average. In addition, China’s manufacturing index bumped up to growth territory with a Caixin Manufacturing index of 50.7 percent in May after showing a slight dip in April.

ISM^® MANUFACTURING PMI: 24-Month History

Six month moving average shown. Source date: ISM^®.

The COVID-19 pandemic looks to have snuffed out an expansion that wanted to kick off at the start of the year as the Institute for Supply Management^® reported a PMI of  49.1 percent for March. Based on the overall economy, the drop from 50.1 percent in February seems relatively modest. Comments from the ISM^® report and panel reflect intense concerns about the future outlook as the world economy is heading into the unknown.