Cara Haffey, Manufacturing and Automotive lead at PwC UK said:
“April’s PMI reading of 49.1 was a slight drop from the 20-month high the manufacturing sector posted in March. Issues relating to supply chain disruption and market uncertainty continue to impact trading conditions, though the month-on-month drop is slight. The road to recovery and growth for manufacturers was never going to be simple, so rather than feeling acute concern - many in the sector will view today’s news as largely normal and somewhat expected, given the ongoing fragility in market conditions.
“Exporters continue to face challenging conditions, with the PMI noting the downturn in new export business extended itself to the 27th consecutive month. Having already been in decline for over two years, more recent geopolitical conflicts disrupting key global trade routes have added another layer of difficulty to what was already a complex trading environment.
“With 52% of manufacturers forecasting their output to increase over the next 12 months, resilience is clearly on display. The sector continues to navigate day-to-day disruption in running costs, materials and shipping and will be hoping for better news on the horizon - not least with the Bank of England’s next MPC decision on interest rates on May 9.”
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