The ISM Customers’ Inventories Index registered 43.5 percent in October, 5.5 percentage points lower than in September when the index registered 49 percent. This is the 31st consecutive month the Customers’ Inventories Index has been below 50 percent, indicating that respondents believe their customers’ inventories are too low at this time.

The five manufacturing industries reporting customers’ inventories as being too high during October are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Furniture & Related Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Chemical Products. The 11 industries reporting customers’ inventories as too low during October — listed in order — are: Primary Metals; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Textile Mills; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Plastics & Rubber Products; Transportation Equipment; Machinery; Paper Products; Computer & Electronic Products; and Fabricated Metal Products.