Purchasing managers remain optimistic. The May Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 52.8%, an increase of 1.3 percentage points over the April reading of 51.5%, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee percent. Any reading over 50% indicates the industrial purchasing environment is in growth mode.
Conference Board sees economic expansion in 2015’s second half. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.7% in May to 123.1 (2010 = 100), following a 0.7% increase in April, and a 0.4% increase in March. “The U.S. LEI increased sharply again in May, confirming the outlook for more economic expansion in the second half of the year after what looks to be a much weaker first half,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, the Conference Board’s director, business cycles and growth research, in a press release.
Oil rig count continues to slide. Baker Hughes Inc., Houston, said the average U.S. rig count for May 2015 was 889, down 87 from the 976 counted in April 2015, and down 970 from the 1,859 counted in May 2014. According to the Baker Hughes data, the international rig count for May 2015 was 1,158, down 44 from the 1,202 counted in April 2015, and down 192 from the 1,350 counted in May 2014. The international offshore rig count for May 2015 was 284, down 16 from the 300 counted in April 2015, and down 42 from the 326 counted in May 2014.
Freight traffic down slightly year-over-year. For the week ending June 6, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 550,037 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.2% compared with the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C. For the first 22 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,113,133 carloads, down 3.2% from the same point last year; and 5,769,195 intermodal units, up 2.1% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 22 weeks of 2015 was 11,882,328 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 0.7 percent compared to last year.