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October 31, 2005 12:00 PM, EST

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anufacturing growth in the Chicago rose in October for a second straight month, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Monday.

APM’s business barometer rose to 62.9 from 60.5 in September, the group said. That exceeded economists’ forecasts of a decline to 57.4, Bloomberg reported.

Readings above 50 signal expansion. The survey’s reading contracted in August to 49.2; before that, it had risen for 27 consecutive months.

The survey’s new-orders index jumped to 72.6, the highest since March, from 63.4. The prices-paid index rose to 79.6, the highest this year, from 76.3 in September.

Chicago is a major center of U.S. manufacturing, which is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.