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percent. Inventories of raw materials registered 45.5 percent, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the March reading of 47 percent. The Prices Index registered 59 percent, an increase of 7.5 percentage points from the March read- ing of 51.5 percent, indicating higher raw materials prices for the second con- secutive month. Manufacturing regis- tered growth in April for the second consecutive month, as 15 of 18 indus- tries reported an increase in new orders in April (up from 13 in March), and 15 of 18 industries reported an increase in production in April (up from 12 in March). Manufacturing expanded in April as the PMI registered 50.8 percent, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the March reading of 51.8 percent, indicating growth in manufacturing for the second consecutive month. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufactur- ing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is gen- erally contracting. A PMI above 43.2 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. The past relationship between the PMI and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI for January through April (50.1 percent) corresponds to a 2.2 percent increase in real gross domes- tic product (GDP) on an annualized basis. In addition, if the PMI for April (50.8 percent) is annualized, it corre- sponds to a 2.4 percent increase in real GDP annually. US primary aluminum production rate surveyed ARLINGTON, Va.—Based on Alu- minum Association surveys, the annual rate of US primary aluminum produc- tion totaled a revised 1,064,429 metric tons (tonnes) during February 2016, a decrease of 37.0 percent from the Feb- ruary 2015 annual rate of 1,689,768 tonnes. Compared to the previous month, the annual rate of production decreased 2.0 percent from the January 2016 revised annual rate of 1,086,064 tonnes. The year-to-date (YTD) annual rate of production through February 2016 totaled a revised 1,075,607 tonnes, off 36.0 percent from the 2015 YTD rate of 1,680,825 tonnes. Actual production for the month of February 2016 totaled a revised 84,340 tonnes. Participating companies account for 100 percent of U.S. primary aluminum production. US manufacturing technology orders grow in March MCLEAN, Va.—March US manufac- turing technology orders grew 36.9 per- cent compared to the previous month. However, orders were still down 11.8 percent compared to March 2015 and stand at 15.0 percent down year-to-date compared to the same point a year ago. This is according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Tech- nology Orders (USMTO) program. Though the monthly gain appears sig- nificant, it is important to note that many manufacturing technology firms closed the fiscal year on March 31, which in turn drives activity for orders and sales. Overall, the immediate indus- try outlook remains flat. "While dealing with persistent economic challenges and a softer market that's likely to last into the fourth quarter, man- ufacturers are leveraging productivity gains to stay competitive," said Douglas K. Woods, AMT president. "The out- look from industry economists improves toward year's end on two particular strengths of the US economy: foreign di- rect investment and a resurgent con- sumer base. For now, manufacturing technology makers are focused on find- ing markets that offer the best opportu- nity, like automotive, aerospace and medical. Sentiment among manufactur- ing executives remains optimistic about future capital equipment investment." Other economic data from the manu- facturing sector has also been tepid. The ISM PMI came in at a lower-than-ex- pected 50.8 percent for April, and re- gional Fed surveys for the month were mixed. However, one bright spot was export orders, which rose to a 17- month high. Regional activity for man- ufacturing technology orders was par- ticularly strong in the Northeast, much of it driven by activity in the aerospace industry. While the Southeast region saw a monthly drop in orders, it is the only region measured by USMTO that has shown a year-to-date gain in orders compared to 2015, much of it coming 42 POWDER COATING, June 2016 Preliminary steel imports increase in March WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Amer- ican Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has reported that for the month of March 2016, the US imported a total of 2,569,000 net tons (NT) of steel, in- cluding 2,097,000 NT of finished steel. Respectively, these totals are up 12.9 percent and down 0.1 percent versus February final data. Year-to-date (YTD) total and finished steel imports are 7,493,000 and 6,424,000 NT, down 36 percent and 34 percent respec- tively versus the same period in 2015. Annualized total and finished steel im- ports in 2016 would be 30.0 and 25.7 million NT, down 23 percent and 18 percent respectively versus 2015. Fin- ished steel import market share was an estimated 24 percent in March and is estimated at 25 percent YTD. AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. For more news about steel and its applications, visit www.steel.org. Manufacturing sector's economic activity expands in April TEMPE, Ariz.—Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April for the second consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 83rd consecutive month, say the na- tion's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Busi- ness. The report is based on data com- piled from purchasing and supply exec- utives nationwide. The April PMI registered 50.8 percent, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the March reading of 51.8 percent. The New Orders Index registered 55.8 per- cent, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the March reading of 58.3 per- cent. The Production Index registered 54.2 percent, 1.1 percentage points lower than the March reading of 55.3 percent. The Employment Index regis- tered 49.2 percent, 1.1 percentage points above the March reading of 48.1 UPDATE: Markets