acceleration

Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in the U.S. probably shrank in January at the fastest pace in 28 years following a collapse in sales that caused inventories to swell at the end of 2008, economists said before reports today.

The Institute for Supply Management’sfactory index fell to 32.5 last month, the lowest level since June 1980, from 32.9 the prior month, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Readings less than 50 signal contraction. Other reports may show consumer and construction spending dropped in December.

Manufacturers such as General Motors Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. are cutting output and firing workers as the biggest global economic slump in the postwar era causes unsold goods to pile up. President Barack Obama last week highlighted the deteriorating economy in pushing for Congress to enact his recovery plan to save jobs and boost spending.

“The economy is down for the count right now, and there is nothing imminent in terms of a rebound,” said Brian Bethune, chief financial economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Demand cratered so quickly in the fourth quarter, both external and domestic, that a lot of companies couldn’t get production down fast enough.”