Chicago Business Barometer™ & Research

Chicago Business Barometer^™ & Research

Monthly Survey - Chicago Business Barometer^™

The ISM Chicago Business Survey, is a regional view of the national economy; is a time-tested, market-moving report. The Chicago Report^™ is available to subscribers on the last working day each month. The Chicago Business Barometer^™ summarizes current Business Activity. The Barometer is considered to be a leading indicator of the U.S.A. economy.

For more than seven decades, the Chicago Business Barometer^™ has been providing leading insight on the U.S. economy. The Chicago Business Barometer^™ is delivered to subscribers via the MNI Chicago Report^™, a monthly report published by MNI Indicators that presents valuable information on the U.S. economic activity and a fresh look at current U.S. business conditions. The report consists of seven Business Activity indicators and three Buying Policy indicators that represent activity and preformance levels compared to the prior month.

Purchasing and Supply Management professionals in the Chicago area, primarily members of ISM Chicago, are polled to assess business conditions for their respective companies every month.

For more information about the Chicago Business Barometer^™ and MNI Indicators products, please contact martindanielb@yahoo.com.

Periodically, ISM Chicago may invite our members and community to participate in additional research.

February - Chicago Business Barometer^™

The Chicago Business Barometer^™ increased 6.0 points to 45.5 in February. This is the second consecutive monthly gain, taking the reading to the highest level since June 2024, though it remains in contractionary territory for the fifteenth consecutive month.

The rise was driven by increases in four of the five sub-components: Production, New Orders, Supplier Deliveries and Order Backlogs, whilst Employment fell.

February special question asked: "What are your plans for selling prices going into 2025?" Majority 36% answered "2% - 4%", 25% reported "Prices expected to remain stable", with 14% of respondents each reporting between "Increase 4% - 7%", or "Less than 2% increase". Number of respondents 11% reported "Greater than 7%".

Released February 28, 2025.

Read the Press Release

Hesitiant digitalization hamstrings manufacturer's outlook

The manufacturing sector is struggling with digital transformation, as highlighted by IFS survey where 82% of executive express concern over their company's future without IT integration. Major barriers include lack of strategic direction, conflicting priorities across management levels and indequate investment.

Full Story: CIO (02/13)

AI is opening new opportunities to upskill procurement professionals

The technology is changing work dynamics, but many companies are not investing in necessary training

Companies are leveraging AI to address a talent shortage in procurement by automating tasks and creating digital pathways for career advancement, even as a Skill Dynamics report shows that many companies are not prioritizing training budgets, with 29% having no specific budget for training. "Since the unpredictability of the supply chain is hardly going to cease anytime soon, skill shortages will continue to be a problem until companies realize their budgeting mistake," the white paper noted.

Full Story: Supply Chain Management Review (02/07)

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