US manufacturing expands for a tenth month: ISM Manufacturing PMI at 55.5% in October 2026

The Institute for Supply Management's October report, released November 2, 2026, puts the manufacturing PMI at 55.5%, versus 54.5% in September. New orders reached 55.5% (+0.2 percentage points) and production 59% (+2.3 points), the highest production reading since November 2021. Raw-material inventories increased, customers' inventories were assessed as too low, supplier deliveries slowed and the Prices Index remained in increasing territory. For supply and inventory planners, the combination matters more than the headline PMI: faster factory activity alongside rising input costs and depleted customer stocks creates a replenishment dilemma. Decisions must be differentiated by item margin, stockout cost, lead time and purchase-price exposure, rather than applying one across-the-board response to an expansionary index. Photo : Pexels (stock libre de droits).