U.S. Service Industry Growth Slowed Down in March

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) service industry report showed that the service industry PMI in March was 50.8, down from the previous month, and growth slowed down. Among the tracking areas, some achieved growth and some shrank. The Northern Mariana Islands index fell sharply, and multiple indicators decreased.

Members emphasized the issue of tariffs, such as the Information Services Group said that tariffs affect the supply chain of the groundwood paper market, and the transportation and warehousing industry is worried about the suspension of funding. Chairman Miller believes that the decline in employment and new export order data highlights the impact of tariff uncertainty, and the service industry faces at least two months of uncertainty in the short term. The tariff announcement has a negative impact, because the price increase of imported goods has led to unclear domestic price trends, and reduced the possibility of the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, triggering inflation. However, the business activity index is a positive highlight, and member comments show that companies have a need to expand and increase confidence.