The numbers: American manufacturers grew their businesses in February at the slowest pace since the election of President Donald Trump in November 2016, offering more proof the U.S. economy has gotten off to a slow start this year.

The Institute for Supply Management said its survey of top manufacturing executives fell to 54.2% last month from 56.6% in January. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast the index to total 55.5%.

Although any number above 50% reflects a growing economy, the closely followed ISM index has fallen off from a 14-year high of 60.8% last summer.

What happened: New orders, production and employment all fell in February.

The index for new orders dropped 2.7 points to 55.5%, with production falling a steeper 5.7 points to 54.8%. Employment slipped 3.2 points to 52.3% — also the lowest in two years.

On the positive side, the prices companies pay for raw materials and other supplies continued to drop in line with a gradual decline in inflation.

What’s more, 16 of the 18 industries tracked by the ISM reported growth. That’s another good sign.

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Big picture: The economy slowed toward the end of 2018 and it may have slowed further still early in the new year, but the U.S. is still growing at a steady pace and the odds of recession are low.

The Federal Reserve recently decided to stop raising U.S. interest rates for the time being and the prospects for a tension-easing trade deal with China are rising — a pair of tailwinds that could boost growth in the spring.

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What they are saying?: “General business conditions started to slow at the end of January, continuing through February,” said an executive at a plastics and rubber company.

““Business so far this year is meeting, but not exceeding, our forecast,’ said another senior executive at a company that makes fabricated metal products used in a wide variety of manufacturered goods.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.24% and S&P 500 SPX, -0.10% rose sharply on Friday on hopes for a trade deal with China soon, but early gains were trimmed by softer reports manufacturing and consumer sentiment.