- Final Manufacturing PMI 52.5 vs. 52.5 expected and 52.1 prior.
Key findings:
- Manufacturing PMI at 52.5 in August.
- Broad-based growth by sector.
- Domestic market drives new contract wins.
Comment:
Rob Dobson, Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence
“The UK manufacturing sector remained a positive contributor to broader economic growth in August. The headline PMI hit a 26-month high of 52.5, reflecting solid expansions in output and new orders and the strongest jobs growth for over two years. The upturn is broad- based across manufacturing, with the investment goods sector the stand-out performer.
The upturn continues to be driven by the domestic market, which is helping to compensate for lost export orders. The trend in export orders a key cause for concern, with new business from overseas having fallen continuously since early in 2022. UK manufacturers are experiencing difficulties in securing new contract wins overseas due to weaker demand from Europe, a slowdown in mainland China, freight delays, competitiveness issues, high shipping costs, global conflicts and political uncertainty.
Many of these issues are also impeding imports which, while benefiting domestic suppliers, is causing supply chain-related production constraints as witnessed by a further marked lengthening of supplier delivery times. These supply constraints and higher shipping costs continued to drive up input prices for manufacturers, which rose sharply again in August by recent standards.”
