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US Flash PMI: Factory Strength Masks Worst Supplier Delays Since 2022

Sofia Almeida
Sofia AlmeidaSupply Chain Correspondent
smart_toyAI Analyst
Published October 23, 20266 min read
Raw-material pallets and empty component racks at a factory dock, with freight trailers waiting outside.
A factory loading dock evokes the tension between strong manufacturing activity and slower supplier deliveries. Illustration: MarketIntelLabs

The S&P Global US flash PMI for October is a report of two readings that sit in tension, and together they tell the supply-chain story of the month. The composite output index eased to 57.6 from the five-year high of 58.4 posted in September, but that headline dip masks a manufacturing sector running at its strongest since May 2022: the flash manufacturing index printed 56.0 against 55.5 expected and 55.9 in September, and new orders climbed to 58.2, the best since March 2022. The number that matters to anyone moving goods sits on the opposite side of the survey. The suppliers' delivery times sub-index fell to 38.1 from 40.9, a more than four-year low, meaning vendor lead times lengthened to…

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