ISM Report on business

The Institute for Supply Management™ ISM Manufacturing Report On Business® is considered by many economists to be the most reliable near-term economic barometer available. Except for a four-year interruption during World War II, the Report has been published monthly since 1931 for the guidance of supply management professionals, economists, analysts, and government and business leaders.

Alan Greenspan, Ph.D., former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, has said of the ISM Manufacturing Report On Business®, "I find the surveys conducted by the purchasing and supply managers to be an excellent supplement to the data supplied by various departments and agencies of government."

According to Joseph E. Stiglitz, former chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors, "The ISM Manufacturing Report On Business® has one of the shortest reporting lags of any macro-economic series and gives an important early look at the economy. It also measures some concepts (such as lead times and delivery lags) that can be found nowhere else. It makes an important contribution to the American statistical system and to economic policy."

Michael J. Boskin, Ph.D., professor of economics, Hoover Institute senior fellow at Stanford University; and former chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, said "The ISM Manufacturing Report On Business® is extremely useful. The PMI, the Report's composite index, gives the earliest indication each month of the health of the manufacturing sector. It is an essential component for assessing the state of the economy." Boskin also said the President's Council of Economic Advisors closely monitored the ISM indexes, especially the New Export Order's Index.

The reason the ISM Manufacturing Report On Business® is so highly respected is that it is based on hard data rather than on conjecture. The Institute's Business Survey Committee, composed of more than 300 purchasing and supply executives from across the country, provide the data. Members of the committee respond anonymously and confidentially to a monthly questionnaire designed to elicit fact, not opinion, about changes in production, new orders, new export orders, imports, employment, inventories, prices, leadtimes, and the timeliness of supplier deliveries in their companies comparing the current month to the previous month. The questionnaire also solicits data on commodities, which are up or down in price and in short supply, and asks for general remarks on business conditions. The responses of the committee members mirror the economic activities of the manufacturing sector, nationally, ensuring a report that accurately represents current business conditions.

ISM's latest Report on Business - Dec 2011

Excerpt from ISM's site:
http://www.ism.ws/ISMReport/MfgROB.cfm?navItemNumber=12942
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