The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business soared to 63.5 in May from 47.3 in April, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Friday.
New orders received surged to 70.8 from 40.4, production rose to 69.6 from 38.3, employment increased to 59.9 from 52.1, supplier deliveries rose to 62.4 from 59.6, and backlog of orders jumped to 59.5 from 54.2.
Inventory levels climbed to 54.8 from 45.8, customers' inventories gained to 45.0 from 42.5, prices dipped to 59.5 from 63.0, exports held at 50.0 and imports rose to 56.7 from 52.6.
The blue collar diffusion index increased to 59.9 from 48.3, while the white collar diffusion index rose to 53.0 from 52.1.
