The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell to 52.4 in April from 52.7 in March. A PMI reading above 50 suggests expansion in the sector.
"Stretched supply chains, rapidly rising prices and heightened uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine all continued to impact the sector, although there were signs of some stabilization: expectations remained low, but slightly up since March, output rose modestly, and employment growth was sustained," Paul Smith, economics director at S&P Global, said.
Although output and employment rose, new orders contracted the most since November 2020, weighed down by both domestic and foreign demand.
On the price front, cost pressures remained historically high, with producers mentioning prices of commodities, metals and fuels the most, which firms passed down to customers, with output price inflation hitting a new record high.
Confidence for the coming year remained historically low due to the war in Ukraine and supply shortages. The overall confidence weakened to the lowest in sixteen months.
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