China News Agency, New York, April 1 (Reporter Wang Fan) According to data released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on April 1, the U.S. Manufacturing Sentiment Index in March fell by 1.5 points from the previous month to 57.1, which was nearly two times the number of the index. lowest value in years.

　　A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in manufacturing activity, the ISM said.

However, some analysts pointed out that the index fell in March to its lowest level since September 2020, reflecting that the growth momentum of the US manufacturing industry is weakening.

　　The data showed that in March, the ISM new orders index fell 7.9 points to 53.8, the production index fell 4 points to 54.5, the producer price index rose 11.5 points to 87.1, the employment index rose 3.4 points to 56.3, and the order backlog index fell. 5 points to 60.

This shows that U.S. manufacturing demand is slowing, price pressures are intensifying, and capacity constraints are beginning to show signs of abating.

　　Timothy Fiore, chairman of the ISM Manufacturing Survey Committee, said in a statement the same day that U.S. manufacturing remains in a demand-driven, supply-chain-constrained environment.

In March, although demand slowed, it was still growing.

Companies have made some progress in addressing labor shortages at the supply chain level.

Affected by fluctuations in energy prices, manufacturing prices showed a trend of accelerated expansion.

　　Fiori said that of the six largest manufacturing sectors, five sectors, including food, machinery, and transportation equipment, maintained moderate to strong growth.

In terms of industry performance, areas such as clothing, leather, furniture, food, electronic equipment and household appliances led the growth.

　　Bloomberg News said that under the influence of tensions in Ukraine, the prices of global commodities such as energy and heavy metals have been further pushed up, which has brought more price pressure on the US manufacturing industry than before, and the producer-paid price index directly It was the biggest monthly gain since the end of 2020.

Manufacturing data for March sent a message that uncertainty is mounting for U.S. manufacturing as price pressures grow and industry demand slows.

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