The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI registered 54.5 percent in September 2026, down 0.1 point from 54.6 in August and a touch below the consensus near 55.0, according to the report issued by Susan Spence, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. The sector expanded for a ninth consecutive month, the longest run since 2022, after a prior 10-month contraction. ISM noted that a PMI above 47.5 percent, over time, is generally consistent with expansion in the overall economy, which has now grown for 23 straight months. The September reading is consistent with about 2.4 percent annualized real GDP growth. Demand firmed under the stable headline. New orders rose 1.6 points to 55.3, a ninth month of growth, with five of the six largest industries reporting higher orders. The backlog of orders jumped 4.6 points to 56.4, also a ninth month of expansion. Customers’ inventories fell 1.2 points to 41.6 and remained too low for a 24th month, a level that historically supports future production. New export orders eased 2.3 points to 50.9 but stayed in growth for a third month. Imports slowed to 51.0 from 52.5 and remained above 50 for an eighth month. Output cooled but did not stall. Production fell 1.6 points to 56.7 and has expanded for 11 straight months. Employment rose 1.5 points to 52.7, a third month of growth, though only two of the six largest industries reported higher headcount. Supplier deliveries eased 0.3 point to 59.0 and were still slowing for a 10th month. Raw-materials inventories dropped 2.0 points to 48.6, back into contraction after three months of growth. The main stress was prices. The Prices Index surged 6.8 points to 77.9 from 71.1, the largest move in the report and close to the 78.3 reading in March at the start of the Iran war. About 58.6 percent of respondents reported higher prices, up from 46.2 percent. No commodities were reported down in price. Steel, aluminum, copper, diesel, electronic components and resins were among those listed higher, with panel comments citing tariffs, petroleum-related costs and longer lead times. Sentiment tilted negative: 40 percent of comments were positive and 60 percent negative, with pricing volatility mentioned in 46 percent of negative comments, tariffs in 34 percent and the Iran war in 30 percent. Twelve industries expanded, led by Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; and Primary Metals. Only Printing & Related Support Activities and Textile Mills contracted. Five of the six largest manufacturing industries grew. For markets, the mix is still expansion rather than a rollover: orders, backlogs and lean customer inventories support factory output into the fourth quarter, and employment has stopped contracting. The offset is the prices print, which reaccelerated toward early-war levels and keeps goods inflation in the policy debate even with the headline PMI only a tenth lower. The next ISM Manufacturing PMI is due in early November.