Markit PMI data for September 2021
- Narkit manufacturing final PMI 60.7 versus 60.5 preliminary
- manufacturing sector final output index comes in at 55.7 versus flash reading up 55.2. August came in at 56.7
- final input prices index for September comes in at 87.0 versus flash reading of 86.9. August prices came in at 87.5
- Prices index decreases from previous month for the first time since January
- Despite rising markedly, production was often hampered by severe material and labour shortages, as supply chain disruption worsened
- Demand conditions softened from the peaks seen earlier in the year, but both domestic and foreign client orders rose at historically elevated rates
- Pressure on capacity was reflected in the fastest uptick in backlogs of work on record, as challenges expanding workforce numbers persisted
- the pace of input cost inflation softened only slightly from August's series record, causing firms to raise their charges at an unprecedented rate
- Demand conditions across the manufacturing sector remained strong at the end of the third quarter, as new sales rose markedly. Alongside greater new business from new and existing customers, some firms suggested new order growth stemmed from client efforts to stockpile
- New export orders rose at the fastest pace for four months
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said:
"The US manufacturing sector continues to run hot, with demand once again racing well ahead of production capacity as firms report widespread issues with supply chains and the availability of labor. "The inability to meet demand amid near-record shortages of inputs and labor not only led to an unprecedented rise in backlogs of work as orders sat unfulfilled, but prices charged for those goods leaving the factory gate also surged higher again in September, rising at a rate exceeding anything seen in nearly 15 years of survey history. "With COVID-19 cases showing signs of having peaked early both domestically and globally, some of the supply chain and labor shortage issues should start to ease, in turn taking some of the pressure off prices. But a dip in manufacturers' expectations for the year ahead to the lowest for four months due to supply worries underscores how production is likely to be adversely affected by shortages for some time to come."
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