Manufacturing by the Numbers: Industry stats from June 2024
The old adage ‘you can't manage what you can't measure’ has never been truer, especially in the industrial sector. Having the right data about your plant, your business, and the industry in general is essential if you want your company to thrive.
This monthly roundup highlights the reports, studies, surveys, and insights that are impacting the manufacturing industry. Here are this month’s stats.
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in May for the second consecutive month"The Manufacturing PMI registered 48.7% in May, down 0.5 percentage point from the 49.2% recorded in April. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 49th month after one month of contraction in April 2020." |
Business activity declined modestly according to the June 2024 Empire State Manufacturing Survey"The headline general business conditions index moved up ten points but remained below zero at -6.0. New orders held steady, while shipments inched higher." |
Industrial production rose 0.9% in May"Manufacturing output posted a similar gain of 0.9% after declining in the previous two months. The index for mining increased 0.3% in May, and the index for utilities advanced 1.6%." |
Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region was mostly steady overall"The diffusion index for current general activity edged down 3 points to 1.3 in June, its lowest reading since January. Twenty-four percent of the firms reported increases in general activity this month, while 23% reported decreases; 50% reported no change." |
New orders for manufactured durable goods in May increased 0.1% to $283.1 billion"This followed a 0.2% April increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.1%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.2%." |
Texas factory activity was flat in June"The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, inched up to 0.7 from -2.8 in May. The near-zero reading signals little change in output after a slight decline over the prior period." |
Cutting tool orders reached $214.7 million in April"Orders increased 1.1% over March 2024 and grew by 13% over April 2023. Year-to-date shipments totaled $846.1 million, nearly 5% above shipments made in the first four months of 2023." |
Manufacturing activity in the Richmond area slowed in June"The composite manufacturing index decreased from 0 in May to -10 in June. Of its three component indexes, shipments fell notably from 13 to -9, new orders decreased from -6 to -17, and employment rose from -6 to -2." |
Orders of manufacturing technology reached $317.9 million in April"This is a 25.6% decrease from March 2024 but only 5.4% behind orders in April 2023. Orders in 2024 totaled $1.43 billion through April, 16.2% behind orders placed in the first four months of 2023." |
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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