NEW YORK — Manufacturing activity declined for the fourth month in a row in November, an industry group reported Friday, offering further evidence of a slowdown in the U.S. economy.
The National Association of Purchasing Management said its purchasing index fell to 47.7 percent in November, down from the 48.3 it reported in October. The November reading was slightly weaker than the 48.0 percent level that analysts anticipated.
An NAPM index above 50 signifies growth, while a figure below 50 means contraction.
"We continue to see few signs of encouragement in the near term for the manufacturing sector," said Norbert J. Ore, who oversees the monthly survey. "The effect of higher interest rates, higher energy prices, and the strong dollar are causing the sector in general to lose momentum."
The report's one bright spot is that the rate of decline in production decelerated, registering only a small falloff from October, Ore said. But he anticipated further weakness.
The NAPM's report is closely watched because it is one of the first indications of economic activity in November in the important manufacturing industry. The figures are based on a survey of purchasing executives who buy the raw materials and supply for manufacturing at more than 350 industrial firms.
Economists, meanwhile, interpreted the report as yet another indication that the U.S. economy is heading for a soft landing.
"We have here a clear trend of declining manufacturing, but not a precipitous decline, not a collapse," said economist Paul Christopher of A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis, Mo.
"This reading today just confirms or adds more evidence to what we think is the most likely scenario — for a soft landing in 2001."
In a separate report, the Commerce Department said Friday that construction spending rose a healthy 0.9 percent in October as building gains at factories and apartment units offset a big slide in spending on highway projects.
The 0.9 percent advance pushed total activity to $825 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, the second-highest level on record.