HispanicBusiness

Average for 12 months -- 57.3High -- 60.4Low -- 54.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Orders

ISM's New Orders Index registered 60.9 percent in December, which is an increase of 4.3 percentage points when compared to the 56.6 percent reported in November. This is the 18th consecutive month of growth in the New Orders Index. A New Orders Index above 50.2 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Census Bureau's series on manufacturing orders (in constant 2000 dollars).

The 10 industries reporting growth in new orders in December ” listed in order ” are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Primary Metals; Furniture & Related Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Machinery; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Fabricated Metal Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Transportation Equipment. The four industries reporting decreases in new orders in December are: Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Paper Products; Chemical Products; and Printing & Related Support Activities.

New Orders %Better %Same %Worse Net Index

Dec 2010 31 47 22 +9 60.9

Nov 2010 30 45 25 +5 56.6

Oct 2010 36 39 25 +11 58.9

Sep 2010 26 52 22 +4 51.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Production

ISM's Production Index registered 60.7 percent in December, which is an increase of 5.7 percentage points from the November reading of 55 percent. An index above 51 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Federal Reserve Board's Industrial Production figures. This is the 19th consecutive month the Production Index has registered above 50 percent.

The nine industries reporting growth in production during the month of December ” listed in order ” are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Primary Metals; Furniture & Related Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Machinery; Transportation Equipment; and Chemical Products. The six industries reporting a decrease in production in December ” listed in order ” are: Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Paper Products; Textile Mills; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Printing & Related Support Activities.

Production %Better %Same %Worse Net Index

Dec 2010 30 52 18 +12 60.7

Nov 2010 26 54 20 +6 55.0

Oct 2010 37 49 14 +23 62.7

Sep 2010 31 54 15 +16 56.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Employment

ISM's Employment Index registered 55.7 percent in December, which is 1.8 percentage points lower than the 57.5 percent reported in November. This is the 13th consecutive month of growth in manufacturing employment. An Employment Index above 49.8 percent, over time, is generally consistent