U.S. manufacturing activity rebounded from a five-month slump in January, heading off concerns about a protracted downturn, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s January survey of manufacturing executives.

The ISM’s report, released February 4, finds last month’s gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity bounced back into expansion territory, hitting a level of 50.9%. This represents an increase of 3.1% from December’s reading of 47.8%.