Midwest manufacturing cooled off a bit in December.
The latest Chicago PMI report came in at 58.3, falling short of expectations and falling to a five-month low for the index.
Expectations were for the report to come in at 60.0, down slightly from November's 60.8 reading.
Any reading for the index above 50 indicates expansion and any reading below indicates contraction.
"The Chicago Business Barometer fell 2.5 points to a five month low of 58.3 in December as production and both ordering components expanded at the slowest pace since July," the report from ISM Chicago said.
"The slowdown in the pace of activity exhibited since October’s one year high of 66.2 has been marked, although the Barometer averaged 61.8 in Q4, a little higher than the 59.1 seen in Q3. For 2014 as a whole the Barometer put in the best performance in three years, averaging 60.8 compared with 56.1 in 2013 and 54.6 in 2012."
Commenting on the Chicago Report, Philip Uglow, Chief Economist of MNI Indicators said, "It was a
disappointing end to to the year with the pulse rate of our business panel slowing noticeably in December. The trend, however, remains solid and consistent with continued growth in the US economy."
