Ford Motor assembly worker John Pavlovich at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan in this file photo. U.S. manufacturing activity hit a six-month high in December, according to a survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) yesterday. The ISM’s index, which looks at orders, production and jobs, rose to a higher-than-expected level of 53.9 in December, up from 52.7 in November. SD-Agencies