UK Manufacturing PMI at highest level since October 1994

The headline Manufacturing PMI is calculated from data on new orders, production, employment, supplier performance and stocks of purchases. Output rose for the tenth consecutive month in March. The rate of increase accelerated to its highest since July 1994 and the second-fastest in the eighteen-year survey history. Gains in production reflected improving economic conditions, increased intakes of new work and efforts to reduce backlogs. New orders rose for the ninth month in a row during March, with the rate of expansion only slightly slower than January's six-year peak. Companies reported solid demand from both domestic and overseas markets, which they attributed to the recovery in global conditions, the launch of new product lines and clients rebuilding inventories. The recovery in the manufacturing sector remained broad-based by product category. The sharpest increases in output and new orders were seen in the intermediate goods sector. SMEs and large-sized enterprises also saw marked gains in both production and new work received. March data signalled an increase in new export orders for the seventh straight month. Although the increase was less marked than February's series record high, it was still amongst the fastest since exports data were first collected in 1995.