diff --git a/src/create_atoms.cpp b/src/create_atoms.cpp
index 7d96011415..17a58504ba 100644
--- a/src/create_atoms.cpp
+++ b/src/create_atoms.cpp
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ void CreateAtoms::command(int narg, char **arg)
   MPI_Barrier(world);
   if (me == 0)
     utils::logmesg(lmp, fmt::format("Created {} atoms\n"
-                        "  create_atoms CPU = {:<.3g} seconds\n",
+                        "  create_atoms CPU = {:.3g} seconds\n",
                         atom->natoms - natoms_previous,
                         MPI_Wtime() - time1));
 }