US factory activity contracted slightly for a third straight month last month, while a measure of prices fell by the most in more than a year.
The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing gauge was little changed at 48.5 compared with 48.7 a month earlier, data out yesterday showed. The gauge remains modestly below the reading of 50 that separates contraction and expansion.
The group’s measure of prices paid for materials fell 4.9 points, the most since May last year. At 52.1, the index shows the slowest growth in costs this year.
Photo: Joel Angel Juarez, Reuters
While the overall manufacturing gauge still shows shrinking activity, one positive sign for producers was a pickup in the ISM’s new orders gauge. The measure rebounded nearly 4 points to 49.3, indicating bookings are getting closer to stabilizing.
Meanwhile, ISM’s production index slipped into contraction territory — to 48.5 from 50.2 — and factory employment shrank.
The figures indicate US manufacturing continues to struggle for momentum due to high borrowing costs, restrained business investment in equipment and uneven consumer spending as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates higher for longer.
“Demand remains subdued as companies demonstrate an unwillingness to invest in capital and inventory due to current monetary policy and other conditions,” ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee chair Timothy Fiore said in a statement. “Production execution was down compared to the previous month, likely causing revenue declines, putting pressure on profitability.”
Nine industries reported contracting activity last month, led by textile mills, machinery and fabricated metals. Eight indicated growth.
Recent reports have sent mixed signals about manufacturing. Figures last week showed orders placed with US factories for business equipment unexpectedly declined in May, while separate data showed a broad pickup in factory output.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
RSS