US Manufacturing, Services PMIs Surge To Record Highs Amid “Unprecedented Supply Chain Disruptions”

Despite sagging ‘hard’ data, ‘soft’ surveys of US Manufacturing and Services sectors have been resurgent amid stimulus hype, vaccination success, and some reopenings. After new cycle highs in March, preliminary April data was expected to surge even higher… and they did.

Markit US Manufacturing April Flash disappointed, printing 60.6 vs 61.0 expected but was higher vs March’s 59.1.

Markit US Services April Flash beat, printing 63.1 vs 61.5 expected and significantly higher vs March’s 60.4.

Both Manufacturing and Services PMIs are at record highs.

Source: Bloomberg

Unprecedented supply chain disruptions pushed input costs higher once again in April.

The US has once again pushed to the top of the global Composite PMI league – also a record high…

Source: Bloomberg

Commenting on the PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, said:

“The US economy is enjoying a strong start to the second quarter, firing on all cylinders as loosening virus restrictions, an impressive vaccine roll-out, a brighter outlook and stimulus measures all helped boost demand.

“The upturn is broad-based: the service sector is growing at the fastest rate recorded in almost 12 years of survey history, and manufacturers reported one of the strongest expansions seen over the past seven years. The latter was all the more impressive, as factories continued to be throttled by unprecedented supply chain delays, a consequence of which was a further steep rise in prices.

“The worsening supply situation is a concern for the outlook, especially in relation to prices. Supply needs to improve to come into line with demand. But with record supply chain delays driving a rise in backlogs of uncompleted work of a magnitude not surpassed for over seven years, firms appear to be struggling to boost operating capacity in the near-term.”