Price, and its influences and ramifications, is still weighing heavily on manufacturers and related industries, according to findings in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

The ISM Prices Index for October showed that there is significant pressure to raise prices. The index showed that manufacturers continued to pay higher prices in October, making it the 32nd consecutive month the index has shown higher prices.

October's price index was at 78.5 percent, 2.5 percentage points higher than in September. During October, 61 percent of supply executives reported paying higher prices, while only 4 percent reported paying lower prices. Thirty-five percent reported that prices were unchanged.

In all, 17 industries reported they were paying higher prices—among them: tobacco; glass, stone and aggregate; textiles; primary metals; chemicals; industrial and commercial equipment; computers; transportation; and fabricated metals.

Elsewhere in the report, it was found that economic activity in manufacturing grew in October for the 17th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 36th straight month.

Among the feedback from respondents were comments from the chemical industry indicating that while demand for products was strong, profitability was being squeezed by energy prices. In addition, the electronics industry appeared to be slowing, as several respondents indicated a slowing in new orders.

"October continued a trend of slower growth, but that should be somewhat expected as manufacturing has experienced three quarters of strong growth so far this year," said Norbert Ore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee and group director, strategic sourcing and procurement, Georgia-Pacific Corp. "The decline in order backlogs is an indication that manufacturing has peaked, and some sectors are seeing this more than others. Concerns over recent inventory growth would seem to be offset by October's decline in inventories and the expectations that customer inventories are still too low."

Other findings from October:

• The New Orders Index grew modestly (to 58.3 percent), up from September's 58.1 percent. It was the 18th consecutive month the index exceeded 50 percent. Among the industries that showed reported increases were chemicals; industrial and commercial equipment; and glass, stone and aggregate.
• October's Production Index was 58.9 percent, 2.7 percentage points lower than the 61.6 percent reported from September, the 18th consecutive month of growth for that index. Among the industries reporting growth were chemicals; glass, stone and aggregate; transportation and equipment; textiles; furniture; and rubber and plastic products.
• ISM's Employment Index grew for the 12th consecutive month. Industries reporting growth in employment for October included rubber and plastic products; industrial and commercial equipment; computers; food; wood products; electronic components and equipment; furniture; instruments and photographic equipment; textiles; and miscellaneous (encompassing jewelry, toys, sporting goods and musical instruments).

A separate report, one from the U.S. Labor Department, indicated that new jobs rose at its highest rate in seven months during October. Observers attributed this in part to a surge in construction related to the hurricane aftermath and clean-up in the Southeast. Despite this, though, unemployment rose to 5.5 percent in October, up from 5.4 percent in September.