Manufacturing extended growth in March

TEMPE, Ariz., April 1 (UPI) -- U.S. manufacturing activity expanded for the eighth consecutive month in March, with growth accelerating, the Institute of Supply Management said Thursday.

The trade group's key index, the Purchasing Manager's Index, climbed 3.1 percentage points in the month to 59.6. The index last dipped below 50, the breaking point between growth and contraction, in July 2009.

Seventeen of 18 manufacturing groups reported business growth in the latest month with plastics and rubber products the only group showing declines.

New orders index climbed to 61.5 from 59.5. The employment index also showed growth, but 1 percentage point slower than a month ago with the index for jobs reading 55.1.

Production accelerated from 58.4 to 61.1.

"The rate of growth as indicated by the PMI is the fastest since July 2004," said Norbert Ore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

Notably, the inventories index pulled above 50 for the first time in since May 2006, "a surprise as it indicated growth for the first time following 46 months of liquidation -- perhaps signaling manufacturer's willingness to increase inventories based on expected levels of activity," Ore said.