Global manufacturers saw varying results in the month of July as many countries face new headwinds with COVID-19 outbreaks hitting specific regions. Additionally, lead times are still extended with supply chain issues continuing. Firms are also facing labor challenges that pre-date the pandemic but have escalated during the past 18 months. Both issues lead to inflationary pressure with most regions reporting input and output price increases. Still, all countries in our report remain above the crucial 50 percent PMI line, but business confidence overall for manufacturers is slipping as companies weigh the impact of prolonged issues from the COVID-19 Delta variant.
GERMANY: IHS Markit/BME reported a PMI of 65.9 percent for German manufacturers in July, which represented a second straight month of growth and the third-highest figure on record. New orders were strong and led to a sharp increase in backlogs. Employment also saw a big increase.
