PMI manufacturing ended January at 50.7, up 4 tenths from the mid-month flash and up nearly 4 points from December. Though readings near 50 indicate little change in general activity, this is still the best result since Septmeber 2022. Nevertheless, expectations for ISM manufacturing, which will be posted at the top of the hour, have been running below PMI manufacturing with Econoday's consensus calling for no change at 47.4.

Details for PMI manufacturing include marginal month-over-month growth for new orders and slower contraction for output, the latter hampered by delivery delays. Higher costs for transportation pushed up prices paid in turn tripping the sharpest pass through of higher costs to customers since April last year; these latter readings will catch the attention of Federal Reserve policymakers who are keeping their eyes on inflation.

The final manufacturing PMI for January is expected to come in at 50.3, unchanged from the mid-month flash and more than 2 points higher than December.

Based on monthly questionnaire surveys of selected companies, the Purchasing Managers' Manufacturing Index (PMI) offers an advance indication on month-to-month activity in the private sector economy by tracking changes in variables such as production, new orders, stock levels, employment and prices across manufacturing industries. The final index for the current month is released roughly a week after the flash.

Investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it dictates how various types of investments will perform. By tracking economic data such as the ISM manufacturing index in the U.S. and the Markit PMIs in the U.S. and elsewhere, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for the various markets. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers less rapid growth and is extremely sensitive to whether the economy is growing too quickly and causing potential inflationary pressures.

The Markit PMI manufacturing data give a detailed look at the manufacturing sector, how busy it is and where things are headed. Since the manufacturing sector is a major source of cyclical variability in the economy, this report has a big influence on the markets. And its sub-indexes provide a picture of orders, output, employment and prices.

Markit originally began collecting monthly Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data in the U.S. in April 2004, initially from a panel of manufacturers in the U.S. electronics goods producing sector. In May 2007, Markit's U.S. PMI research was extended out to cover producers of metal goods. In October 2009, Markit's U.S. Manufacturing PMI survey panel was extended further to cover all areas of U.S. manufacturing activity. Back data for Markit's U.S. Manufacturing PMI between May 2007 and September 2009 are an aggregation of data collected from producers of electronic goods and metal goods producers, while data from October 2009 are based on data collected from a panel representing the entire U.S. manufacturing economy. Markit's total U.S. Manufacturing PMI survey panel comprises over 600 companies.