- Prior was 57.7
- Prelim was 55.3
- Manufacturing output contracted for the first time in five months as omicron hampered production
- Both input cost and output prices increased at slower paces when compared to December 2021
Commenting on the latest survey results, Jingyi Pan, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit, said:
“The IHS Markit Australia Manufacturing PMI showed that, while the sector itself remained in expansion, the COVID-19 Omicron wave clearly impacted operations at the start of 2022. Manufacturing output returned to a state of contraction as supply and labour issues ballooned.
“Suppliers’ delivery times also lengthened at a faster rate amid the spate of COVID-19 disruptions, contributing to a record build up of backlogged work. Any worsening of the demand and output deviation, particularly if pent-up demand is unleashed with improvements in ongoing COVID-19 conditions, carries the potential to aggravate supply constraints.
“The good news is that price pressures eased at the start of 2022. Meanwhile business optimism declined only slightly despite the surge in COVID-19 cases, reflecting some resilience in sentiment.”
