U.S. Factories Humming

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index jumped to 62.8 in November, the highest since December 1983, from 57.0 in October. That easily beat the forecasts of Wall Street economists. Even the China View from Beijing carried the story.

With growth so strong and new orders flooding in, factories hired workers for the first time in 37 months, according to the survey. The ISM figures also suggested little slowdown ahead, with factory owners struggling to meet demand for goods.

That good news means government data to be released on Friday could show an even bigger rise in November payrolls than the 135,000 gain forecast by economists, after an increase of 126,000 in October.

My take is that this is welcome news indeed. Local economies across America need this boost, but we are not out of woods just quite yet in terms of competing for manufacturing jobs globally. We still need a long term competitive plan.

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