Chicago manufacturing PMI shows area manufacturing in decline

The latest business data available for gauging the health of the manufacturing sector shows that manufacturing is declining at a slower rate than expected. The Chicago Business Barometer rose to 43.5 points in its December 30 reading, up 7.2 points from November’s 36.3 mark: The data indicates that conditions are improving, but the index’s sub-50-point status means Chicago-area manufacturing remains in contraction for a twenty-fifth month running.

The headline figure is calculated based on indexes measuring area manufacturing employment, orders and prices. The employment and new orders indexes both fell by 2 points relative to numbers from November, while the index for prices index rose by half a point.

The latest figures correspond with similar data from the Dallas Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index, which earlier this month showed Texas manufacturing activity fall half a point to 10.9 points underwater, indicating moderate contraction. Manufacturing productivity, new orders, capacity utilization, shipments, employment and hours worked all fell.

Investing in American manufacturing in 2025 

This map shows where manufacturers are choosing to invest their resources, whether they are building new production facilities or expanding existing plants.