The latest S&P Global flash PMI data for the US dropped with a tale of two economies. Manufacturing punched up to 55.3, signaling robust factory expansion. Services, meanwhile, slipped to 50.9, just barely hanging onto growth territory.
The composite PMI held steady, unchanged from the prior reading. That suggests the overall private sector is still expanding, but the engine driving that growth has shifted almost entirely under the hood of manufacturing.
The numbers and what they actually mean
For anyone who doesn’t spend their mornings parsing purchasing managers’ surveys: PMI stands for Purchasing Managers’ Index. It’s a monthly snapshot of business conditions based on surveys of private sector companies. Any reading above 50 means expansion. Below 50 means contraction. Think of 50 as the economic equivalent of sea level.
Manufacturing at 55.3 is not just above water. It’s comfortably on dry land, signaling that factory activity is accelerating at a meaningful clip. That’s a notable jump and puts manufacturing in a position of relative strength that hasn’t always been the case in recent quarters.
