Week 36 in Manufacturing News

Manufacturing Slows in the U.S. and Abroad, Supply-Chain Bottlenecks, and a Look at Consumer Confidence; Supply chain issues weigh down UK manufacturing sector growth; Rebound in German factory output signals bottlenecks easing.

Manufacturing Slows in the U.S. and Abroad, Supply-Chain Bottlenecks, and a Look at Consumer Confidence

Manufacturing activity is slowing across the U.S. as the nation grapples with the Delta variant and significant supply-chain bottlenecks; the latest survey out of the Dallas Fed dramatically underperformed market expectations and traffic backups at West Coast ports are at multi-year highs.

Source: Nasdaq.

Supply Chain Issues Weigh Down UK Manufacturing Sector Growth

Shortages of inputs and delivery delays disrupted production schedules, leading to slower output growth, and also resulted in marked increases in input prices.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a five-month low of 60.3, a tick below July’s 60.4 but above the long-run average of 51.9. The PMI has signalled an improvement in operating performance in each of the past 15 months.

Manufacturing output rose again in August, albeit to the weakest extent since February. Growth eased particularly sharply at intermediate goods producers. Companies linked higher output to new order gains and the ongoing process of re-opening global economies.

Source: PES Media.

Rebound in German Factory Output Signals Bottlenecks Easing

German industrial output rose more than expected in July after three monthly drops, data showed on Tuesday, in a sign that factories are partly overcoming supply bottlenecks which have been holding back a recovery in Europe’s biggest economy.

The Federal Statistics Office said industrial output, including construction and energy, increased by 1.0% on the month after a revised decline of -1.0% in June. A Reuters poll had pointed to a rise of 0.9%.

Output in manufacturing alone jumped by 1.3% as factories churned out more capital and consumer goods. Construction output rose 1.1% while production in the energy sector fell 3.2%.

Source: Reuters.