NEW YORK – A measure of U.S. manufacturing dropped to the lowest level since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks as new orders dropped.
The reading of 43.5 from the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday was down from August's 49.9. It was reportedly worse than economists' prediction of 49.5, according to the consensus estimate of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR. A reading above 50 signals growth.