Factory orders have now increased for five out of the last six months indicating that the manufacturing sector is putting up a solid fight amid ongoing inflationary pressures. Given this situation, investing in stocks like Caterpillar Inc., CAT A. O. Smith Corporation AOS, EnerSys ENS, Xerox Holdings Corporation XRX and Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT should be prudent. While a reading below 50 indicates contraction, the manufacturing sector is showing signs of recovery, given that three significant subindexes have recently shown expansion.