EmailThe ISM Non-Manufacturing Index decelerated modestly in September but was in-line with the Briefing.com consensus estimate.
The index declined from 53.3 in August to 53.0. Growth in new orders (56.5 from 52.8) led to an acceleration in business activity / production (57.1 from 55.6) in September.
Order backlogs expanded for the first time since June as the respective index increased from 47.5 in August to 52.5 in September. The expansion in backlogs should be enough to support production growth in October even if new orders slip.
That relationship stands in contrast to the September ISM Manufacturing Index, which showed potential weakness in future manufacturing production as the contraction in backlogs worsened. Not all of the non-manufacturing data was strong. Employment contracted for the first time since August 2010 as the respective index fell from 51.6 in August to 48.7 in September. Supplier deliveries (49.5 from 53.0) and imports (47.5 from 53.5) also entered a contraction phase in September.
