It seems that things are getting a little brighter for the manufacturing sector. According to the Commerce Department, orders to U.S. factories rose 2% in December 2001, higher than the 1.5% increase that most analysts predicted. The increase in orders for durable goods came after new orders fell by 6% in November.
Additional reason for cheer comes from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which reports that its index of business activity rose to 49.9 in January. That's up from 48.1 in December and is a sign that the rate of decline is continuing to slow in the manufacturing sector. An index above 50 indicates growth in manufacturing, while a figure below 50 shows a decline.