“In May, U.S. manufacturing activity slipped further into contraction after expanding only marginally in February,” Susan Spence, chair of the ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said in a statement. She added that deliveries were delayed because of additional processing time at ports and because “suppliers and panelists’ companies are haggling over who pays for applied tariffs.”
“Either way, tariff rates are likely to get back over 10% and stay there, one way or another,” researchers at LPL Financial said in a note.
“Trade negotiations will continue, economic growth and deficit concerns will remain, and markets are likely to continue to be volatile around lingering trade policy uncertainty.”
