US manufacturing sector expands for 1st time in 12 months in January

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The manufacturing sector in the US expanded in January for the first time in a year, according to a report on Monday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

The ISM manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 52.6%, up 4.7 percentage points from 47.9% in December 2025. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while below that level shows contraction.

The expectation for the index was 48.5% for last month.

"Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January for the first time in 12 months, preceded by 26 straight months of contraction," an ISM statement said.

The New Orders Index expanded for the first time since August 2025, with 57.1%, up 9.7 percentage points over December’s 47.4% and its highest since February 2022 (59.7%).

The Production Index increased by 5.2 percentage points to 55.9% from December’s 50.7%, the highest since it reached 58.1% in February 2022.

The Prices Index remained in expansion, rising to 59%, from 58.5% in December.

The Backlog of Orders Index climbed to 51.6%, from 45.8% in December, the highest figure since August 2022 (53%).

"In January, U.S. manufacturing activity returned to expansion territory, with improvements in all five subindexes that make up the PMI® (New Orders, Production, Employment, Supplier Deliveries, and Inventories), though the Employment and Inventories indexes still remain in contraction," ISM Chair Susan Spence said.