re: Manufacturing output index: highest in six years

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However, this growth is being accompanied by some of the most severe supply chain bottlenecks seen in the near-two-decade survey history if the pandemic is excluded, with companies also reporting increasing problems finding suitable staff. Backlogs of work are consequently rising sharply. While this accumulation of uncompleted orders bodes well for the further expansion of output and capacity in the coming months, it also indicates that companies are developing more pricing power, and hence is a worry for the inflation outlook.

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Firms’ input costs have meanwhile jumped in September at the steepest rate for four years, with fuel and transport costs spiking higher thanks to the rise in oil prices seen during the month, which will add further to the upward pressure on selling prices and inflation in the coming months.

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The survey's gauge of prices paid by businesses for inputs jumped to ?66.4, the highest ?reading since October 2022, from 59.9 in August. Both services and manufacturing businesses reported higher input prices. S&P Global noted that high raw materials prices in manufacturing were also often linked to supply shortages. It said suppliers' delivery times lengthened considerably on average, "with the incidence of supply chain delays ?the most ?widespread since July 2022.

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