By Mark Pender

NEW YORK (MNI) – Delays in the trucking sector slowed September
deliveries significantly to help drive up the Institute For Supply
Management’s non-manufacturing composite index, according to survey
chief Anthony Nieves.

Supplier deliveries, one of four components of the NMI, jumped four
points to 55.0 for its highest reading in nearly 2-1/2 years.

“This has to do with overland trucking where capacity has been cut
way back. The tie-ups mean that overall capacity is not being met,”
Nieves said in a phone interview with Market News International.

Nieves doesn’t see the slowdown in deliveries as a one-time event,
noting that capacity expansion in the trucking sector will take time.

He also noted that increased activity in the trucking sector will
spill into the business activity index where a rise in this NMI
component will help offset any improvement in deliveries.

A solid rise in new orders, up 2-1/2 points to 54.9, points to
greater need for shipping ahead. Nieves was concerned in the August
report about the outlook for new orders following that month’s steep 4.3
point decline.

“I was pleasantly surprised when the data came in this month. I
wasn’t sure where things were going after the last report.”

A 50.2 reading for the employment index shows no significant
month-to-month change in respondents’ workforces, an uncertain reading
but one that Nieves believes is positive.

“If employment can stay up, it will help improve attitudes. The
recession is over, things are looking up, and businesses will start to
invest.”

New export orders were a big plus in the report, up nearly a dozen
points to 58.0 in a gain that Nieves attributes to very strong activity
out of the information sector.

Construction showed no change in the month with retail showing
slight month-to-month strength. Wholesale, the base of the
non-manufacturing sector, showed special strength at a composite of
55.6.

Citing the strength in wholesale, Nieves sees steady and slow
growth in the months ahead.

“We’re starting to show signs of good stability here. Talk of a
double dip is gone. Overall, things are looking good.”

** Market News International New York Newsroom 212-669-6430 **

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