Manufacturing in US nearly stagnates

A key gauge of US manufacturing retreated to near-stagnation in February amid mounting concern that the world’s largest economy won’t be able to dodge a hit from the coronavirus.

The Institute for Supply Management index slid to 50.1 from 50.9 a month earlier, according to data Monday that showed a steeper drop than economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected. Three of five components fell, led by the biggest drop in production since 2018. Of 18 industries, 14 reported growth, ISM said in a statement.

“Global supply chains are impacting most, if not all, of the manufacturing industry sectors,” Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM’s manufacturing survey committee, said in the statement. “Concerns about current and ongoing reliable Asian supply dominated the comments from panellists,” with a number mentioning the virus impact.