US manufacturing growth slows in October to 60.8% reading

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturing growth slowed in October amid growing headaches from supply chain bottlenecks. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Monday that its index of manufacturing activity dipped to a reading of 60.8% in October, 0.3 percentage-points below September’s 61.1%. Any reading above 50 indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. But the ISM report noted that manufacturers and suppliers were dealing with an unprecedented number of hurdles in their efforts to meet rising demand. U.S. companies had been particularly impacted by a rise in COVID cases in many Southeast Asian countries where much of the production of semiconductors for autos and other products takes place.