Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)

Diffusion survey of purchasing managers where readings above 50 signal expansion and below 50 contraction.

Specifications & Metrics

type

Leading

frequency

Monthly

publisher

Institute for Supply Management (U.S.); S&P Global elsewhere

Core Principles & Analysis

• ISM, founded in 1915 as the National Association of Purchasing Agents, publishes a U.S. manufacturing PMI series that runs back to 1948.
• It is a diffusion index: the share reporting improvement plus half the share reporting no change.
• Because managers see new orders before production ships, the PMI tends to move ahead of GDP.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Purchasing Managers' Index