Global manufacturing activity continued to expand in September, supported by rising output and new orders, according to the latest JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI report, compiled by JP Morgan in partnership with S&P Global Market Intelligence, ISM, and IFPSM.
The headline index registered 50.8 in September, little changed from August’s 14-month high of 50.9, marking a second straight month of improvement in global manufacturing conditions. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
“The JP Morgan global manufacturing output PMI fell back 0.5-pt in September to 51.3,” said Maia Crook, Global Economist at JP Morgan. “Even with the decline, the PMI remains at a level that suggests trend-like manufacturing growth, despite growing headwinds from tariffs, slowing labor markets, and still-depressed business confidence.”
JP Morgan’s report highlighted that the upturn in manufacturing output and new orders was broad-based across key regions. India recorded the strongest rate of output expansion, followed by Thailand.
Meanwhile, the report found that both China and the United States reported similar Output PMI readings – 52.0 and 52.4, respectively – though China’s figure reflected an acceleration in growth, while US activity eased slightly. Japan’s manufacturing sector, by contrast, contracted for the third consecutive month.
In Europe, JP Morgan noted a mixed performance across major economies. Solid gains were recorded in the Netherlands and Germany, offset by contractions in Italy, France and the United Kingdom.
The report attributed part of the UK’s downturn to cyberattacks that temporarily disrupted the automotive supply chain.
Across subsectors, the report found concurrent output growth in consumer, intermediate, and investment goods industries for the second consecutive month. Consumer goods producers recorded the fastest rate of expansion, while growth among intermediate goods manufacturers remained modest.
Despite improving demand, the report showed that global manufacturing employment was largely unchanged for the second month running.
“The recent modest upturns in output and new business failed to stimulate any meaningful job creation,” JP Morgan stated, noting that higher employment in the United States, Japan and India was offset by reductions in China and parts of the euro area.
Price pressures also eased in September, with JP Morgan reporting slower increases in both input costs and output charges. Supply chains, however, continued to face challenges, as average vendor lead times lengthened for the sixteenth consecutive month.
Crook added that while near-term prospects remain uneven, forward-looking indicators are showing improvement.
“Future output and export orders both moved up on the month,” she said, “though an ongoing surge in the finished goods inventory PMI suggests that much of production’s growth is driven by stockbuilding rather than final sales.”
According to JP Morgan, the average Global Manufacturing PMI reading of 50.4 for the third quarter was the strongest since mid-2024.
