U.S. Manufacturing Slump Continues into 14th Month Despite Slight Activity Uptick
- U.S. manufacturing activity index rose slightly to 47.4 in December but remains in contraction territory below 50
- Manufacturing has contracted for 14 straight months
- New orders and inventories indexes fell further
- Only 1 of 18 industries reported growth
- Economists expect sharp drop in interest rates to eventually improve picture, but change won’t be immediate