- Prior 57.1
- New orders 58.0 vs 59.6 prior
- New exports 51.0 vs 51.6 prior
- Employment 53.9 vs 54.1 prior
- Output 57.5 vs 57.8 in prior
- Output prices 51.6 vs 52.3 prior
- Input prices 54.6 vs 54.1 prior
We’re off from the 45 month highs we posted last month so it’s not an overly disappointing report despite falls across most of the main components listed above. Input prices are up slightly pointing to inflation but it’s nothing to write home about. Employment is still the right side of the expansion line (50) even though it has dropped 0.2 points.
It also paints a healthy picture for the first quarter as Chris Williamson at Markit explains;
“The manufacturing PMI adds to evidence that the sector has shrugged off the weather-related weakness seen earlier the year, with strong demand encouraging firms to expand and hire new staff at a robust pace. The buoyant growth in March rounds off the best quarter for three years, indicating that the sector should provide a robust contribution to GDP in the first quarter”
