It’s Only Common Sense: The Importance of Setting Realistic Expectations
Marcy’s Musings: The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Do/Start'
PMI at 59.3%; March Manufacturing ISM Report On Business
April 3, 2018 | PRNewswireEstimated reading time: 7 minutes
ISM's Backlog of Orders Index registered 59.8% in March, which is the same as reported in February, indicating growth in order backlogs for the 14th consecutive month. "Backlog expansion continued during the period, with the index at the same reading as February and the highest level since May 2004, when it registered 63%. Strong backlog, near-seven-year lows in customer inventory levels and continued strong new order expansion indicates that production requirements should remain robust through Q2," says Fiore.
New Export Orders
ISM's New Export Orders Index registered 58.7% in March, a decrease of 4.1% points when compared to the 62.8% reported for February, indicating growth in new export orders for the 25th consecutive month. "All six big industry sectors continued to expand export activity during the period. Exports remained strong, with many survey respondents commenting on the currency advantage," says Fiore.
Imports
ISM's Imports Index registered 59.7% in March, a decrease of 0.8% point when compared to the 60.5% reported for February, indicating that imports grew in March for the 14th consecutive month. "Imports continued to expand in order to support production demand, but at slightly slower expansion rates. Many comments reflected the negative impact of the Asian holiday period, concerns about tariffs and difficulties in moving containers from ports to using locations," says Fiore.
About This Report
DO NOT CONFUSE THIS NATIONAL REPORT with the various regional purchasing reports released across the country. The national report's information reflects the entire U.S., while the regional reports contain primarily regional data from their local vicinities. Also, the information in the regional reports is not used in calculating the results of the national report. The information compiled in this report is for the month of March 2018.
The data presented herein is obtained from a survey of manufacturing supply executives based on information they have collected within their respective organizations. ISM makes no representation, other than that stated within this release, regarding the individual company data collection procedures. The data should be compared to all other economic data sources when used in decision-making.
Page 2 of 2Share on:
Suggested Items
RF PCB Design Tips and Tricks
05/08/2025 | Cherie Litson, EPTAC MIT CID/CID+There are many great books, videos, and information online about designing PCBs for RF circuits. A few of my favorite RF sources are Hans Rosenberg, Stephen Chavez, and Rick Hartley, but there are many more. These PCB design engineers have a very good perspective on what it takes to take an RF design from schematic concept to PCB layout.
Trouble in Your Tank: Causes of Plating Voids, Pre-electroless Copper
05/09/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn the business of printed circuit fabrication, yield-reducing and costly defects can easily catch even the most seasoned engineers and production personnel off guard. In this month’s column, I’ll investigate copper plating voids with their genesis in the pre-plating process steps.
Elephantech: For a Greener Tomorrow
04/16/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineNobuhiko Okamoto is the global sales and marketing manager for Elephantech Inc., a Japanese startup with a vision to make electronics more sustainable. The company is developing a metal inkjet technology that can print directly on the substrate and then give it a copper thickness by plating. In this interview, he discusses this novel technology's environmental advantages, as well as its potential benefits for the PCB manufacturing and semiconductor packaging segments.
Trouble in Your Tank: Organic Addition Agents in Electrolytic Copper Plating
04/15/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankThere are numerous factors at play in the science of electroplating or, as most often called, electrolytic plating. One critical element is the use of organic addition agents and their role in copper plating. The function and use of these chemical compounds will be explored in more detail.
IDTechEx Highlights Recyclable Materials for PCBs
04/10/2025 | IDTechExConventional printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing is wasteful, harmful to the environment and energy intensive. This can be mitigated by the implementation of new recyclable materials and technologies, which have the potential to revolutionize electronics manufacturing.