ISM’s Prices Index Jumps 6.8 Points to 77.9 as Manufacturing Expands for a Ninth Month

ISM’s Prices Index reached 77.9 in September, up 6.8 points from 71.1 in August. Raw materials prices have now risen for 24 straight months. The Institute for Supply Management released its September Manufacturing PMI Report on October 1.

What the article says

The Manufacturing PMI registered 54.5 percent in September, against 54.6 percent in August, the ninth consecutive month of expansion in the sector. The New Orders Index rose 1.6 points to 55.3, and the Backlog of Orders Index climbed 4.6 points to 56.4. The Customers’ Inventories Index fell to 41.6 and remained in what ISM calls “too low” territory. The Prices Index registered 77.9, which ISM describes as “a notable increase of 6.8 percentage points” on August’s 71.1. Susan Spence, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee: “Higher prices were reported by 58.6 percent of respondents in September, up 12.4 percentage points from August’s 46.2 percent.”

Why it matters at the top of the house

For a manufacturer, input costs are rising at a faster rate while customers hold thin stock and the order book grows. Those are the conditions in which a price increase gets written, and in which a buyer with low inventory has less room to wait. The question for a president is whether the price list moves this quarter, and whether the reps and the distributors can explain the increase before the buyer asks.

Source: Institute for Supply Management, “Manufacturing PMI® at 54.5%; September 2026 ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report,” by ISM (press release on PR Newswire, no byline; Susan Spence, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, quoted), October 1, 2026. The Marketing Table shares the link and a note on why it matters; the article and its copyright belong to the publisher.