US factories expand at strongest rate in almost 14 years
WASHINGTON — American manufacturers said they expanded in February at the fastest pace in nearly 14 years — gains driven in part by a jump in hiring.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reported Thursday that its manufacturing index climbed to 60.8 in February from 59.1 in January. This was the strongest reading since May 2014. Any score above 50 signals growth.
The gains in the survey largely came from a surge in the employment and inventory components of the index. New orders and production expanded in February but at a slightly slower rate than in January.
Timothy Fiore, chair of ISM’s manufacturing survey committee, said the results indicate that some companies were slow to hire as demand had increased in prior months, meaning that activity could be stepped up for the first half of the year.