what is the purchasing managers index pmi 
the purchasing managers index pmi is an indicator of the prevailing direction of economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors the indicator is compiled and released monthly by the institute for supply management ism a nonprofit supply management organization it is a diffusion index that summarizes whether market conditions are expanding staying the same or contracting as viewed by purchasing managers the purpose of the pmi is to provide information about current and future business conditions to company decision makers analysts and investors investopedia zoe hansenformula and calculation of the purchasing managers index pmi the pmi is calculated as follows 