ISM Reports: Manufacturing Activity Contracted In December According to the latest report from Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®), economic activity in the manufactur- ing sector contracted in December for the 10th consecu- tive month, following a two-month expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction. The report was issued by Susan Spence, MBA, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. The Manufacturing PMI® registered 47.9 percent in De- cember, a 0.3-percentage point decrease compared to the reading of 48.2 percent in November and the lowest read- ing of 2025. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 68th month after one month of contraction in April 2020. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 42.3 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.) The New Orders Index contracted for a fourth straight month in December following one month of growth; the figure of 47.7 percent is 0.3 percentage point higher than the 47.4 percent recorded in November. The December reading of the Production Index (51 percent) is 0.4 percent- age point lower than November’s figure of 51.4 percent. The Prices Index remained in expansion, registering 58.5 percent, the same as November’s reading. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 45.8 percent, up 1.8 percentage points compared to the 44 percent recorded in November. The Employment Index registered 44.9 percent, up 0.9 percentage point from November’s figure of 44 percent. The Supplier Deliveries Index indicated slower delivery performance after one month in ‘faster’ territory. The read- ing of 50.8 percent is up 1.5 percentage points from the 49.3 percent recorded in November. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM® PMI® Reports index that is inversed; a read- ing of above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand increases.) The New Export Orders Index reading of 46.8 percent is 0.6 percentage point higher than the reading of 46.2 percent registered in November. The Imports Index regis- tered 44.6 percent, 4.3 percentage points lower than No- vember’s reading of 48.9 percent.” In December, U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at a faster rate, with pullbacks in the Production and Invento- ries indexes leading to the 0.3-percentage point decrease of the Manufacturing PMI®. Those two subindexes in- creased in November, so their contraction this month con- tinues the short-term “bubble” of improvement indicative in the last several months of PMI® data — and a hallmark of recent economic uncertainty in manufacturing. The top industries reporting contraction in December — in the following order — are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Wood Products; Textile Mills; Paper Products; Chemical Products; and Printing & Related Support Activ- ities.
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SAUER SYSTEM www.sauersystem.com
Sauer provides intelligent solutions for scoring, slitting, slit-scoring, and perforating on corrugators and floor slitters; and glue tab cutting, creasing, slotting, trimming and scrap chopping on presses. New, featured offerings include FRX Adjustable Folding Rail System and G3 Scoring System: the latest proven creasing technology on the market.
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Interactive website for Stafford Corrugated Products and Stafford Cutting Dies. Featuring online ordering of replace- ment parts. Also, visitors can automatically calculate sheet size for most die-cut standards.
SUN AUTOMATION GROUP ® www.sunautomation.com
SUN Automation Group is the global leader in providing innovative solutions to the corrugated industry. SUN engi- neers and builds the SUN625 Rotary Die Cutter, provides sales, service and support in North and Central America for Latitude Machinery Corporation, manufacturer of Mini to Jumbo FFG and RDCs. Additionally, SUN is the North Amer- ican, UK and Ireland sales and service provider for Para Machinery’s line of equipment, and is the North American sales provider for Highcon. SUN also powers the corrugat- ed industry’s premier IIoT platform, Helios, and is the OEM source for Langston/Staley equipment parts and service. THACKER INDUSTRIAL SERVICE COMPANY www.thackerindustrial.com Specializing in corrugated machinery, T.I.S.CO. offers quali- ty-made products, support services, and more. T.I.S.CO. has a reputation of dependability, not only in the product, but in service and support. With more than 25 years’ experience, T.I.S.CO. installs equipment and machinery, moves or sets up entire plants, rewires and rebuilds - all over the world. VT GROUP www.vtgrouponline.com VT offers prepress services for the POP display and corru- gated shipping container industry including graphic design, optimized digitally imaged printing plates and innovative pre-mounting solutions. Our large-format digital printing fa- cility (Digital Impact) is a leading short-run manufacturer of distinctive POP displays and signage where litho-like graph-
ics are preferred. WPR SERVICES www.wprservices.net
WPR Services was established in 2016. What originally start- ed as a technical services company expanded its product offerings to include a machine center learning platform POWtalk™. Our analysis of video, audio, machine metrics, employee ergometrics, and person to person conversation provides a way to identify safety and process inefficiencies.
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January 12, 2026
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