We've seen pauses in sales before; (it's) too soon to call this a trend.

If we had any faith in the reliability of these numbers, we'd have to call them disappointing, ... But we don't, so we won't.

If these declines were part of the normal economic cycle we would now call for a recession in the U.S., but they aren't. The index is responding to a shock, and we expect it quickly to rebound.

It is still too early to call the end of the manufacturing slump because the stability of July output might be little more than a seasonal effect, ... this report probably means the worst is over.