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What Is the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)?
The Purchasing Managers' Index is a monthly survey of business conditions. It's one of the earliest signals each month of whether the economy is expanding or contracting.
How the PMI works
The best-known U.S. PMIs come from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Each month, ISM asks purchasing managers whether conditions such as new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and inventories are improving, staying the same or getting worse.
The answers are combined into a diffusion index. A reading above 50 means the sector is expanding; below 50 means it is contracting.
Manufacturing vs. services
The ISM Manufacturing PMI is released at 10:00 AM ET on the first business day of the month, and the ISM Services PMI on the third business day. Services make up most of the U.S. economy, while manufacturing tends to swing more with the business cycle.
Regional Fed surveys
ISM's data is licensed, so our chart shows two free, PMI-style surveys from the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and New York (Empire State). They ask manufacturers similar questions and come out earlier in the month, giving an early read on the ISM report.
These surveys are scored differently: readings above zero mean more firms see conditions improving than worsening, and below zero signals contraction.
Regional Fed Manufacturing Surveys over time
Regional Fed Manufacturing Surveys
Manufacturers reporting better vs. worse business conditions (diffusion index), monthly
Common questions
When is the next ISM PMI report?
The next ISM PMI report is scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026, at 10:00 AM Eastern Time.
What does a PMI above 50 mean?
For ISM's PMIs, a reading above 50 means the sector is expanding compared with the previous month; below 50 means it is contracting.
Why does the chart show Fed surveys instead of the ISM PMI?
ISM's PMI data is licensed and not freely available, so we show the Philadelphia and New York Fed manufacturing surveys, which measure similar conditions.
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Source: Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and New York via FRED; release schedule from the Institute for Supply Management. For information only, not investment advice.