August Philly Manufacturing: Strength With Some Moderation: U.S. Data Pulse | North America

Research evidence excerpt

Not for redistribution without written consent of Morgan Stanley

M

Update

August 20, 2026 01:03 PM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

U.S. Data Pulse | North America

Michael T Gapen

Chief US Economist

August Philly Manufacturing:

Strength With Some

Moderation

Lingdi Xu

Economist

Sam D Coffin

Economist

Diego Anzoategui

Economist

Key Takeaways

Heather Berger

Economist

Philadelphia's August manufacturing survey showed continued strength, with

some moderation.

Arunima Sinha

Global Economist

Prices received decelerated sharply, supporting our view that tariff passthrough

has been completed and disinflation is underway.

Production and demand remained strong, while longer delivery times and lower

inventories pointed to supply-chain stress.

Labor demand strengthened further, with both employment and the average

workweek rising.

The Philadelphia ISM-equivalent index edged down to 57.5 from 58.1 in July. We

are tracking the August ISM manufacturing PMI at 54.9. The index was 55.6 in July

Exhibit 1:

General business activity has been expanding this year.

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Business Outlook

60

General Business Activity

General Bus. 3-mo. MA

16

20

40

20

0

-20

-40

-60

12

14

18

22

24

26

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Haver Analytics, Morgan Stanley Research