US factories just posted their best month since May 2022. The ISM Manufacturing PMI hit 54.0 in May 2026, up from 52.7 in April and comfortably above the 53.0 that economists had penciled in.
Five consecutive months of expansion is the kind of streak that gets analysts excited. But the prices paid index is sitting at 82.1, and factory employment has been shrinking for 32 straight months.
The numbers behind the headline
New orders came in at 56.8. Sixteen of eighteen reporting industries logged growth, with electrical equipment, machinery, and transportation equipment leading the charge.
Supplier deliveries hit 60.6, a reading that signals meaningful slowdowns in the supply chain.
