Week 48 in Manufacturing News

US manufacturing and construction point to 6%+ GDP growth; British manufacturing growth speeds up for second month in a row despite supply chain squeeze, data shows; Supply bottlenecks weigh on German factory activity in November -PMI; Australian Manufacturing Sector Shrugs Off Delta Blues.

US manufacturing and construction point to 6%+ GDP growth

The November reading of the ISM manufacturing index increased to 61.1 from 60.8. A very healthy outcome, and with both production and new orders also above 60 – anything above 50 is expansion – it reinforces the message that the sector is in great shape. Additionally, employment increased to the highest level since April, which bodes well for Friday’s employment report with a figure in excess of 500,000 jobs clearly on the cards.

Source: ING.

British manufacturing growth speeds up for second month in a row despite supply chain squeeze, data shows

Growth in the UK’s manufacturing sector has sped up for the second month in a row despite supply chains being squeezed, new data has shown. In a monthly survey known as the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), IHS Markit and CIPS assign a score to the sector. It reached 58.1 last month, compared to 57.8 in October and 57.1 in September, but still considerably below the 60.3 score that was recorded in August.

Source: Daily Mail.

Supply bottlenecks weigh on German factory activity in November -PMI

Supply chain problems held back growth in German manufacturing activity for the fourth month running in November. IHS Markit’s final Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about a fifth of Europe’s largest economy, fell to 57.4 in November, down from 57.8 in October and the lowest in 10 months.

Source: Reuters.

Australian Manufacturing Sector Shrugs Off Delta Blues

Australia’s manufacturing sector shrugged off three months of Covid-related lockdowns in November, with activity across the sector broadly improving amid reports of rising wage costs and difficulty finding skilled labor. The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index rose by 4.4 points to 54.8 in November, the first month of improvement following three months of flat results.

Source: MarketWatch.