Benchmark
Here's The Latest Signal of a Lull in Manufacturing
Suppliers to American manufacturers aren't as busy as they used to be
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Economy-watchers trying to figure out when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates may want to pay attention to an indicator buried in a Monday report on factories.
The Institute of Supply Management's supplier deliveries index, which measures how much time is needed by companies to distribute raw materials to factories, was little changed at 48.9 in July from 48.8 the month before. A reading less than 50 indicates faster deliveries, and it's the first time since 2012 that this index has been below the threshold for two consecutive months.