Economic activity in manufacturing contracted in April for the sixth consecutive month, according to the latest nclick="javascript:window.open('https://www.ismworld.org/supply-management-news-and-reports/reports/ism-report-on-business/pmi/april/', '_blank', 'noopener'); return false;">ISM Manufacturing Report. The good news is that the April Manufacturing PMI of 47.1% was 0.8 percentage points higher than March’s 46.3%.

Food, beverage, and tobacco was one of 12 industries reporting contraction. One respondent remarked, “Pricing pressures continue to plague daily operations. After consecutive years of inflation and aggressive pricing to our retailers, we are starting to see resistance in the willingness to pass along pricing to end consumers. Discounting has entered into conversations.”

The industry reported a growth in production, as well as faster supplier deliveries and paying decreased prices for raw materials. The industry also reported contracting inventories in April, in line with general manufacturing inventories, which continue to be managed down by companies in preparation for lower production output.