WASHINGTON, DC - President Donald Trump interrupted his press briefing on the coronavirus on Tuesday night to enthuse over the latest manufacturing data.

The ISM, or the manufacturing index for the Institute for Supply Management, rose for the third month in a row last month, increasing by 2 points to 54.2. It was the highest reading since March last year.

"This is remarkable, considering the survey was conducted throughout July and showed significant improvement despite the Southwest, in particular, virus hotspots. The ISM measures, and it's a very strong measure of new orders. It rose 5 points in July, to 61.5, in its highest rating, that would be, since September of 2018. That's a big number," the president said.

"Since the April low, new orders are up over 34 points, which is the largest increase in the history of the ISM, dating back all the way to 1948. So, 34 points, that's the largest since 1948."

"Similarly, the ISM's measure of production is up 35 points from its April low to a reading of 62.1, which is the largest 3-month gain in over 70 years. That's some, some number," Mr Trump said.

"These were somewhat surprising, but I've been saying we're doing well, and those numbers are really spectacular."

"Automobile sales, likewise, are a key factor in the resurgence of manufacturing since the March low of 8.8 million units with sales and all of the numbers that are going up, stunningly. It's a 65 percent increase since then, to 14.5 million units, which is a - a massive number," the president said.

"The great strength and great news is really for states like - in particular, Michigan; and Ohio; South Carolina; Pennsylvania, very good; Florida, little bit. These are great numbers. Record-setting numbers."

"The strength in new car sales is also evident in the used car market, where soaring demand - literally, soaring demand - is putting upward pressure on the used car prices. This is a leading indicator of the motor vehicle industry. The need to restock depleted shelves will further galvanize the factory sector - and, we think, very substantially, based on the numbers. We're very, very happy with these numbers. And I think most people are anywhere from surprised to shocked by these numbers, in a very positive way," President Trump said.

(File photo. Credit: Alex Brandon | AP).