Hospital PMI® at 51.3%; August 2025 ISM® Hospital PMI® Report

TEMPE, Ariz., Sept. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Economic activity in the hospital subsector expanded in August for the second month in a row after one month of contraction, preceded by 21 consecutive months of growth prior to that, say the nation’s hospital supply executives in the latest ISM^® Hospital PMI^® Report.

The report was issued today by Nancy LeMaster, MBA, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management^® (ISM^®) Hospital Business Survey Committee: “The Hospital PMI^® registered 51.3 percent in August, a 0.3-percentage point increase from the July reading of 51 percent, indicating expansion for the second consecutive month after one month of contraction. The Business Activity Index remained in expansion territory for the 10th straight month. The New Orders Index returned to expansion, and the Employment Index returned to contraction territory after registering an ‘unchanged’ reading in July. The Supplier Deliveries Index contracted (which indicates faster delivery performance) following two straight months of ‘unchanged’ status. This is just the second month since August 2023 that the Supplier Deliveries Index has been in ‘faster’ territory. The Case Mix Index remained in contraction territory in August, registering 49.5 percent, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from the reading of 46 percent reported in July. The Days Payable Outstanding Index remained in expansion in August, registering 54.5 percent, up 0.5 percentage point from the 54 percent reported in July. The Technology Spend Index reading of 59 percent is an increase of 2 percentage points compared to the 57 percent recorded in July. The Touchless Orders Index remained in expansion territory in August, registering 52.5 percent, up 0.5 percentage point from the reading of 52 percent reported in July.”

LeMaster continues, “The top-of-mind issue for Hospital Business Survey panelists continued to be tariffs. Comments were made about the ongoing difficulty of predicting the impact on health-care supply chains and the fact that price increases were seen more frequently. They also noted increased anxiety among manufacturers. Business activity and new order growth was attributed to ongoing demand for elective procedures. Faster supplier delivery performance occurred for the second time in two years. Some panelists observed fewer back orders and product substitutions at their facilities during the month. Comment topics included hiring freezes and layoffs, as hospitals continued to develop strategies to cope with potential Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement cuts.”

About This Report
The information compiled in this report is for the month of August 2025.

The Hospital PMI^® was developed in collaboration with the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), an association for the health care supply chain profession, and a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association (AHA).

The data presented herein is obtained from a survey of hospital supply executives based on information they have collected within their respective organizations. ISM^® makes no representation, other than that stated within this release, regarding the individual company data collection procedures. The data should be compared to all other economic data sources when used in decision-making.

Data and Method of Presentation
The ISM^® Hospital PMI^® Report is based on data compiled from hospital purchasing and supply executives nationwide. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month. For each of the indicators measured (Business Activity, New Orders, Employment, Supplier Deliveries, Inventories, Prices, Prices: Pharmaceuticals, Prices: Supplies, Backlog of Orders, Imports, Inventory Sentiment, Case Mix, Days Payable Outstanding, Technology Spend, and Touchless Orders), this report shows the percentage reporting each response and the diffusion index. Responses represent raw data and are never changed. Beginning in January 2021, the PMI^® Report staff and consultants are gathering market information to better validate the Exports Index. Exports Index data are still being collected.

The Hospital PMI^® is a composite index computed from the following, equally weighted indexes: Business Activity, New Orders, Employment and Supplier Deliveries. Diffusion indexes have the properties of leading indicators and are convenient summary measures showing the prevailing direction of change and the scope of change. A Hospital PMI^® index reading above 50 percent indicates that the hospital sub-sector is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally declining. For the sub-indexes, except Supplier Deliveries, an index reading above 50 percent indicates that the sub-index is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting. A Supplier Deliveries Index above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries and below 50 percent indicates faster deliveries.

The ISM^® Hospital PMI^® Report survey is sent out to the Hospital Business Survey Panel respondents the first part of each month. Respondents are asked to ONLY report on U.S. operations for the current month. ISM^® receives survey responses throughout most of any given month, with the majority of respondents generally waiting until late in the month to submit responses to give the most accurate picture of current business activity. ISM^® then compiles the report for release on the fifth business day of the following month.

ISM PMI^® Content
The Institute for Supply Management^® (“ISM^®“) PMI^® Reports, formerly Report On Business^®, (Manufacturing, Services, and Hospital reports) (“ISM PMI^®“) contain information, text, files, images, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, and any other materials or content (collectively, “Content”) of ISM (“ISM PMI^® Content”). ISM PMI^® Content is protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other laws, and as between you and ISM, ISM owns and retains all rights in the ISM PMI^® Content. ISM hereby grants you a limited, revocable, nonsublicensable license to access and display on your individual device the ISM PMI^® Content (excluding any software code) solely for your personal, non-commercial use. The ISM PMI^® Content shall also contain Content of users and other ISM licensors. Except as provided herein or as explicitly allowed in writing by ISM, you shall not copy, download, stream, capture, reproduce, duplicate, archive, upload, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, retransmit, distribute, perform, display, sell, or otherwise use any ISM PMI^® Content.

Except as explicitly and expressly permitted by ISM, you are strictly prohibited from creating works or materials (including but not limited to tables, charts, data streams, time-series variables, fonts, icons, link buttons, wallpaper, desktop themes, online postcards, montages, mashups and similar videos, greeting cards, and unlicensed merchandise) that derive from or are based on the ISM PMI^® Content. This prohibition applies regardless of whether the derivative works or materials are sold, bartered or given away. You shall not either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means remove, alter, bypass, avoid, interfere with or circumvent any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices marked on the Content or any digital rights management mechanism, device, or other content protection or access control measure associated with the Content including geo-filtering mechanisms. Without prior written authorization from ISM, you shall not build a business utilizing the Content, whether or not for profit.

You shall not create, recreate, distribute, incorporate in other work, or advertise an index of any portion of the Content unless you receive prior written authorization from ISM. Requests for permission to reproduce or distribute ISM PMI^® Content can be made by contacting Rose Marie Goupil in writing at: ISM Research, Institute for Supply Management, 309 W. Elliot Road, Suite 113, Tempe, AZ 85284-1556, or by emailing [email protected]; Subject: Content Request.

ISM shall not have any liability, duty or obligation for or relating to the ISM PMI^® Content or other information contained herein, any errors, inaccuracies, omissions or delays in providing any ISM PMI^® Content or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. In no event shall ISM be liable for any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of the ISM PMI^®. Report On Business^®, PMI^®, Manufacturing PMI^®, Services PMI^®, and Hospital PMI^® are registered trademarks of Institute for Supply Management^®. Institute for Supply Management^® and ISM^® are registered trademarks of Institute for Supply Management, Inc.

About Institute for Supply Management^®
Institute for Supply Management^® (ISM^®) is the first and leading not-for-profit professional supply management organization worldwide. Its community of more than 50,000 in more than 100 countries around the world manage about US$1 trillion in corporate and government supply chain procurement annually. Founded in 1915 by practitioners, ISM is committed to advancing the strategy and practice of integrated, end-to-end supply chain management through leading edge data-driven resources, community, and education to empower individuals, create organizational value and to drive competitive advantage. ISM’s vision is to foster a prosperous, sustainable world. ISM empowers and leads the profession through the ISM^® PMI^® Reports (formerly Report On Business^®), its highly-regarded certification and training programs, corporate services, events and assessments. The ISM^® PMI^® Reports — Manufacturing, Services, and Hospital — are three of the most reliable economic indicators available, providing guidance to supply management professionals, economists, analysts, and government and business leaders. For more information, please visit: www.ismworld.org.

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SOURCE Institute for Supply Management