US Factory Output Not Affected By Government Shutdown

From The Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Factories Shrugged Off Shutdown" by Neil Shah:

U.S. factories notched their fifth straight month of expansion in October, bucking expectations that the federal government's 16-day shutdown would chill activity.

The Institute for Supply Management on Friday said its broad index, in which any reading above 50 indicates expansion, inched up to 56.4 last month from 56.2 in September. The report, based on a survey of corporate purchasing managers, showed growth in new orders, exports and order backlogs—suggesting the recent pickup could persist.