June is bustin’ out

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Updated Dec 14, 2009

It seems that for economic news, June is bustin’ out all over, to cite the song from the old play, “Carousel.” Well, not all over, but there were some strong items announced June 1. I hope you’re seeing evidence in your freight.

The overall economy grew for the first time following seven months of decline, according to executives surveyed in the latest manufacturing report from the Institute for Supply Management.

Also, “May is the first month of growth in the New Orders Index since November 2007, with nine of 18 industries reporting growth,” says ISM’s Norbert Ore. “New orders are considered a leading indicator, and the index has risen rapidly after bottoming at 23.1 percent in December 2008.”

Another up note: U.S. construction spending. This sector had “its biggest increase in eight months in April, advancing for a second straight month as the private sector put money into both residential and nonresidential projects,” reports Money/CNN.

Meanwhile, consumer spending fell a mere tenth of 1 percent in April, which is less than the three tenths it fell in March.

Back to ISM: Five of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in May. The winners, in order of growth, are: nonmetallic mineral products; plastics and rubber products; machinery; food, beverage and tobacco products; and printing.

— Max Heine