2026.05.0113:51:56UTC+00US Manufacturing Sector Grows the Most Since 2022

The S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI was revised up to 54.5 in April 2026, from a preliminary reading of 54.0 and March’s 52.3, marking the strongest expansion in the manufacturing sector since May 2022. New orders grew at the fastest rate in four years, even as export sales fell for the eleventh consecutive month amid ongoing tariffs and conflict in the Middle East. Output growth accelerated to its highest level since April 2022, supported by stockpiling aimed at offsetting mounting price and supply pressures related to the war. Inventories of finished goods posted their first net increase in three months. Purchasing activity rose at the steepest pace in four years, while employment declined for the first time in nine months and at the sharpest rate in a year and a half. On the price side, input cost inflation climbed to a ten-month high, and output prices increased at the fastest pace since June 2025. Business confidence strengthened as well, reaching its highest level since February 2025.