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Tariffs weigh on US factory activity as it contracts for 7th straight month

The Straits Times

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October 03, 2025

US factory activity shrank in September for a seventh consecutive month as factories grappled with the fallout from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.

Tariffs weigh on US factory activity as it contracts for 7th straight month

Construction equipment sitting in a lot in San Leandro, California, in August. The Institute for Supply Management said its US manufacturing PMI increased to 49.1in September from 48.7 in August - below a reading of 50, indicating contraction in manufacturing, which accounts for 101 per cent of the economy. PHOTO: AFP

(AFP)

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey and other private-label data will assume greater importance among investors seeking to assess the health of the economy after the US government shut down at midnight on Sept 30, delaying the publication of key economic data, including the closely watched employment report for September that was due on Oct 3.

Import duties dominated responses in the ISM survey on Oct 1, with some manufacturers of miscellaneous goods complaining “steel tariffs are killing us”.

Paperwork related to tariffs was also causing materials to be held up at borders.

Though some of the uncertainty surrounding trade policy had been resolved as deals were made and the levies came into effect, Mr Trump is not done with tariffs, unveiling more duties recently.

Tariffs have cast a pall over the economy and, combined with immigration raids, impeded job growth.

Economists warned the 15th government shutdown since 1981, which will slow air travel, suspend scientific research, withhold pay from US troops and lead to the furlough of 750,000 federal workers at a daily cost of US$400 million (S$515 million), would further muddy the economic outlook.

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