Institute for Supply Management (ISM)

April 2026 ISM Services PMI Report Recap (LinkedIn Live)

The ISM Services PMI for April 2026 slipped to 53.6, signaling modest slowdown in the sector’s overall health. Dan Zeiger and ISM committee chair Steve Miller unpacked the data, noting that while new orders dropped to 53.5, the figure remains just below the trailing‑year average, suggesting a temporary correction rather than a structural weakness. Nine of the ten sub‑indexes stayed in expansion territory, with only employment slipping further into contraction. Business activity rose to 55.9, order backlogs held steady at 53, and both export and import indices continued their third‑month expansion streak. Supplier deliveries edged up marginally to 56.8, defying expectations of a sharper rise amid jet‑fuel price volatility. Miller highlighted that elevated price pressures persist, with the Prices Index holding at 70.7 – the highest since October 2022 – as oil‑related costs filter through supply chains. He warned that even if crude prices fall, transportation and petroleum‑derived input costs will linger for months, a reality already reflected in new fuel surcharges from carriers like USPS. For businesses, the mixed signals imply cautious optimism: demand remains resilient, but cost inflation and labor tightening could erode margins. Companies will need to manage fuel surcharges, monitor tariff impacts, and brace for delayed price pass‑throughs as higher energy costs work their way through downstream goods and services.