Business Levels: Steady-to-Higher

摘要

Overall business levels for North American moldmakers were steady-to-higher in September. The MB1 is 51.2, which is a 5.1-point decrease from the August value of 56.3, and a 4.0-point decrease from September 2010. Our MB1 averaged 52.5 in the third quarter of 2011, which is a slight improvement over the second quarter average of 52.0. Modest gains in New Orders and Employment levels were enough to offset the modest declines in Production levels and Backlogs in September. Future Expectations also posted a slight increase.