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Manufacturers defy Asia
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March 2, 1998: 10:55 a.m. ET
Manufacturing economy continues to expand despite Asian woes, NAPM says
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The U.S. manufacturing economy continues to defy predictions of a downturn due to the turmoil in Southeast Asia, figures released Monday by the National Association of Purchasing Management indicate.
The NAPM's purchasing managers' index leapt to 53.3 in February from 52.4 the previous month. Economists had expected a much milder increase to 52.5.
The index is calculated by asking purchasing managers around the country about various sectors of their businesses. A figure above 50 percent indicates that the U.S. manufacturing sector is expanding, while a figure below that shows a shrinking sector.
The financial difficulties being experienced by many Southeast Asian countries led to widespread predictions of a downturn for the nation's manufacturers, who look to that part of the world as a hungry market for U.S. goods. The manufacturing sector appears to be confident that it can maintain some momentum going forward, at least in the short term.
The NAPM's index of new orders showed that manufacturers experienced a pickup in new business. That index moved ahead to 47.9 in February from 45.0 in January.
However, prices for manufacturers increased during February, and the NAPM figures showed that the sector expects to increase its payrolls as well. Over in the warehouse, the inventories index increased to 46.9 last month from 46.7 in January.
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