Manufacturing Activity Index Reaches 10 Month High

During the month of April, U.S. manufacturing rose at the fastest pace it has seen over the last 10 months. Hiring, production and the amount of new orders all increased in the past month. The boost in factories indicates a stronger economy than the recently released data had hinted at. The growth brings a sign of hope following last week’s report of slowed hiring in the early days of April.

A trade group of industrial purchasing managers known as the Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that the manufacturing index of activity rose to 54.8 last month. April’s index was the highest level reported since last June, and increased from 53.4 during the previous month. Any levels reported above 50 are considered to indicate expansion in the economy.

Clearly the report surpassed the expectations of many analysts. It also prompted investors to move money out of bonds and into stocks causing a boost in stock buying which ultimately helped the Dow Jones industrial average close at its highest in the past four years.

Now with a positive outlook on the months to come, hiring managers should consider industrial skills training and operations training as a hot commodity. With hiring and production on the rise, your production and maintenance staff should possess the proper skills to be an efficient problem solving workforce. With operations training your employees will receive the necessary training on the essential skills needed to ensure your equipment is operated and maintained effectively. In order to illustrate the ideal performance a plant operator must take three things into consideration at all times: safety, productivity and efficiency. These fundamentals are just part of the expanse of knowledge taught in operations training.

Ensure your plant equipment and employees operate to their full potential with operations training. Click here to learn more.