PMI and ISM Manufacturing Indices
The improvement in Markit’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index continued in August, rising from 50.9 to 53.6, as new order growth was fueled by exports. The rest of the world opened up before we did, and the sharp increase in exports reflects that fact. Orders outpaced production, which led to a rise in backlogs, as well as additional hiring. Yet the improvement was concentrated at larger firms, while smaller ones continued to struggle. This is consistent with the tightening of credit we are seeing in the private sector, while larger public