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The health of the UK manufacturing sector deteriorated to its lowest level since May 2020 in August, survey data from S&P Global showed on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Globa CIPS UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index stood at 43.0 in August, down from 45.3 in July but above an earlier flash estimate of 42.5.
Falling further below the 50.0 no-change mark, it shows the contraction in the UK manufacturing sector worsened last month, reaching its lowest level in 39 months.
‘Another substantial fall in manufacturing activity, contracting for the sixth month in a row and the fastest rate since May 2020, showed that these are tough times for manufacturers,’ said John Glen, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
‘The constant pressures on business costs from inflation and the systemic weakness in the UK and global economies were also driving the fastest fall in new orders since the financial crisis, outside the pandemic years.’
Nonetheless, S&P Global said manufacturers maintained a positive outlook despite the current economic malaise, with optimism hitting a four-month high in August. This was linked to hopes for a market revival, new product launches and acquisition/diversification plans.
The S&P Global CIPS UK manufacturing PMI is complied by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 650 manufacturers. Survey responses are collected in the second half of each month.
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