“The manufacturing PMI final for November eased to a still solid 55.3 supported by accelerating growth for new orders to a 6-month high, a rise in export orders to a 9-month high and employment which came in at the second highest rate so far this year. Capacity constraints are evident in rising backlogs and slowing vendor performance. Cost pressures for raw materials including metals, the latter tied in part to tariffs, intensified in November with pass through to customers reported.
There are soft spots in today’s report including moderation in production and a dip back in business confidence to the least optimistic level since September last year. Yet the gains in orders and employment are solid signals for a factory sector that has been at the top of the 2018 economy. “