The US manufacturing sector sank deeper into recession in October as the September 11th caused a sharp decline in US factory orders, an industry report showed today.
The National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM) said its monthly gauge of factory activity fell to 39.8 in October from 47.0 in September, marking the sector's weakest month since February 1991, when the US economy was last in recession.
A reading under 50 signals that manufacturing activity - nearly one-sixth of overall economic activity - is declining.
The NAPM index has held below 50 since August 2000.
Capturing the full impact of the attacks, the October NAPM report showed new orders, a key gauge of pipeline demand for factory goods, plunged after rising in the prior two months.
The declines in new orders and factory production were among the largest ever in the report's 53-year history.