Manufacturing to expand, albeit slowly

According to a news item posted today on IndustryWeek.com, the September composite index released by the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI indicates that U.S. manufacturing has borne up well during the bouncy economic recovery and should continue to expand but slowly.

The index fell to 77% from a record high 81% reported by Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI in their June 2010 report. However, that figure still marks the fourth straight quarter manufacturing has reached 50% or above—considered the benchmark between contraction and expansion.

And the current index is over twice that of the 38% recorded in the September 2009 survey, “signaling an impressive turnaround for industry,” observed IndustryWeek.

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