Factories Grow for 10th Straight Month as ISM Index Tops Forecasts

America’s factories kept growing in October, posting a 10th straight month of expansion and beating Wall Street’s expectations, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly survey of purchasing executives released Monday.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.5 percent in October, up one full point from 54.5 percent in September, the group said in its report. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to hold steady at 54.5, Reuters reported. Any reading above 50 signals that manufacturing is expanding, according to ISM.

🚨 NEW DATA: Manufacturing has expanded now for 10 straight months under President Trump pic.twitter.com/K294KsRJq6

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 2, 2026

The White House was quick to claim the win. “Manufacturing has expanded now for 10 straight months under President Trump,” the administration’s Rapid Response 47 account said in a post on X shortly after the release.

Production hits a five-year high

The strongest number in the report was output. The Production Index climbed to 59 percent, 2.3 points higher than September and the index’s highest reading since November 2021, when it registered 60.5 percent, according to ISM. The group said four of the six largest manufacturing industries, including computer and electronic products, transportation equipment, machinery and chemical products, reported higher production.

New orders, a forward-looking sign of demand, also grew for a 10th consecutive month, edging up to 55.5 percent from 55.3 percent, ISM said. All five subindexes that feed directly into the headline PMI (new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and inventories) were in expansion territory in October, one more than in September, according to the report.

Susan Spence, who chairs ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said in the release that the October reading also points to the overall economy growing for a 24th month in a row, based on the past relationship between the index and gross domestic product.

Demand is strong, and prices are still high

Reuters reported that the gains were driven by robust consumer spending and business investment in artificial intelligence, and noted that the government said last week the economy grew at a 3.4 percent annualized rate in the third quarter.

Not every number was rosy. The Prices Index, which tracks what factories pay for inputs, eased to 75.2 percent from 77.9 percent but stayed firmly in “increasing” territory, according to ISM. Reuters reported that economists see that as a sign inflation will keep running above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target into 2027. The Employment Index slipped slightly to 52.4 percent from 52.7 percent, though it still showed factory hiring growing, ISM said.

Supplier deliveries slowed for an 11th straight month, with that index reaching 59.1 percent, according to ISM. The group notes that slower deliveries are typical when customer demand is rising. Exports and imports both grew in October, the report said.

What it means heading into Election Day

The report lands one day before the November 3 midterm elections, giving Republicans a fresh data point for their argument that the administration’s economic agenda is bringing manufacturing back. Democrats have focused their closing message on prices, and the elevated input-cost reading gives them a talking point too. For now, the factory floor is posting its best production numbers in five years, according to ISM’s own data.

ISM’s services sector report is scheduled for release on Wednesday, November 4, according to the group’s release calendar.

Sources

• Institute for Supply Management, October 2026 Manufacturing PMI Report (Nov. 2, 2026)
• Reuters, “US manufacturing picks up in October; input prices stay high” (Nov. 2, 2026)
• Rapid Response 47 on X (Nov. 2, 2026)
• investingLive, “US ISM manufacturing PMI for October 55.5 versus 54.5 estimate” (Nov. 2, 2026)

Reporting by Daily Beltway.