---
source: S&P Global
url: https://www.pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home/PressRelease/8bdf1bb2dddf420e9c0e9d7e22f75c09
document_type: pdf
date_retrieved: 2026-04-23
period: April 2026
parent_publication: S&P Global Flash US PMI
indicators_covered: [Composite PMI, Manufacturing PMI, Services PMI]
---

# S&P Global US Flash PMI, April 2026

News Release
Embargoed until 0945 EDT (1345 UTC) 23 April 2026

®

S&P Global US Flash PMI

Flash PMI signals muted rebound in output from initial war impact
as output prices rise at sharpest rate since mid-2022
April 2026
Flash US Composite PMI Output Index: 52.0
(March: 50.3). 3-month high.
Flash US Services PMI Business Activity Index:
51.3 (March: 49.8). 2-month high.
Flash US Manufacturing Output Index: 55.7
(March: 53.2). 48-month high.
Flash US Manufacturing PMI: 54.0 (March: 52.3).
47-month high.
US business activity growth recovered slightly in April having
slowed to near-stagnation in March following the outbreak of
war in the Middle East. However, the overall pace of expansion
remained subdued, most notably in the services economy
where demand faltered. While manufacturing output showed
a solid gain, the increase in part reflected stock building in
the face of concerns over supply availability and price hikes.
Input cost inflation accelerated and supply delays worsened
at a pace not seen since mid-2022, contributing to the largest
monthly jump in average selling prices for goods and services
since July 2022.

Output and demand
Business activity growth rebounded in April having broadly
stalled in March. The headline flash S&P Global US PMI
Composite Output Index rose from a two-and-a-half year low
of 50.3 to a three-month high of 52.0 in April. The improved
reading signaled faster economic growth at the start of the
second quarter, albeit running well below levels typically seen
last year.
Service sector activity remained especially subdued. Although
recovering slightly from March’s dip, the rate of expansion
was the second weakest in the past year due to a further
cooling of demand growth. New business placed at service
providers rose only marginally and at the slowest rate seen
over the past two years, led by an ongoing decline in exports.
Lost sales were commonly linked by survey contributors to the
uncertainty and disruption caused by the war in the Middle
East alongside other government policies and affordability
issues.
In contrast, the manufacturing sector saw output rise at the
sharpest rate for four years, fueled by the largest influx of new
orders since May 2022. However, both output and new orders
growth were boosted by client stock building amid concerns

S&P Global US Composite PMI Output

Gross domestic product

Index, sa, >50 = growth m/m

annualised % yr/yr

70

12

65

9

60

6

55

3

50

0

45

-3

40

-6

35

-9

30

-12

25

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

-15

Data were collected 09-22 April 2026.
Sources: S&P Global PMI, Bureau of Economic Analysis via S&P Global Market Intelligence.
©2026 S&P Global.

Comment
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P
Global Market Intelligence:
“A rebound in business output growth in April is good news
after the near-stagnation seen in March, but over the past
three months we have seen the weakest expansion of
output recorded since the start of 2024 with the war in the
Middle East squarely to blame.
“The April PMI is broadly consistent with the economy
struggling to manage annualized growth in excess of
1%, with the vast service sector acting as the principal
drag. Orders for services ranging from travel and tourism
to financial products barely rose as the war caused
hesitancy for spending among both household and
business customers, with surging prices and the prospect
of higher borrowing costs acting as a further deterrent.
“There was better news from manufacturing, but here an
expansion of output and orders could be partly traced
to the building of safety stocks, with survey respondents
reporting “panic” and “emergency” buying ahead of price
hikes and supply shortages in echoes of the problems
seen during the pandemic. Not surprisingly, prices are
already spiking higher in this environment, and not just
for energy but for a wide variety of goods and services.
The overall inflation picture is now the most worrying for
almost four years.
“Balancing the risks of inflation lifting sharply higher
against the underlying weakness of economic growth
presents policymakers at the Fed with a growing dilemma.
However, it will likely be increasingly hard to make a case
for rate cuts if inflation follows the path signalled by the
PMI while the economy continues to eke out only modest
growth.”

© 2026 S&P Global

®

S&P Global Flash US PMI

over supply availability and price hikes due to the ongoing war.
The rise in orders was driven by domestic demand, as export
sales of goods fell at an increased rate.

US Services PMI Business Activity
US Manufacturing PMI Output

Index, sa, >50 = growth m/m

80

Supply chains and prices

70

War-related issues led to increasingly widespread supply
problems, adding to existing challenges related to tariffs.
Factories reported the greatest lengthening of supplier
delivery times since August 2022, extending a trend that now
stretches to eight months. In addition to shipping-related
disruptions due to the war, shortages were also linked to the
additional purchasing of safety stocks. Purchasing activity
rose at the second fastest rate seen for nearly four years,
surpassed only by the jump in buying activity seen shortly
after last spring’s tariff announcements.

60
50
40
30
20

19

20

21

22

23

Average prices charged for goods and services rose in April
at the fastest rate since July 2022 amid increases in input
prices and supply scarcities. While manufacturers reported an
especially steep jump in goods prices, with the rate of inflation
at a ten-month high, service sector selling price inflation also
accelerated to reach a 45-month high.

S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI

Input price inflation meanwhile hit an 11-month high in
April and was the second-highest in over three years.
Manufacturing input costs increased especially sharply, with
inflation a ten-month high and the second-fastest increase
since July 2022. The rise in services costs was the largest
since December and among the sharpest in the past three
years. Alongside higher energy prices, companies reported
increased charges for broad swathe of commodities and
inputs. Rising staffing costs were also reported.

50

Employment
Employment rose only marginally in April after falling slightly in
March. The overall flat picture represents the worst back-toback months for employment since late 2024. Manufacturing
headcounts fell for the first time in nine months and
only a marginal return to jobs growth was reported in
the service sector. While some of the weak employment
picture reflected resignations and persistent labor supply
shortages, companies also reported concerns over the need
to reduce staffing costs in the face of the uncertain demand
environment and high input prices.

Future sentiment
Companies’ expectations for output in the year ahead
improved in April but remained historically low. Concerns
focused on the war’s impact on prices and supply availability,
exacerbating existing worries over the cost of living and
government policies. Sentiment remained especially low in the
service sector, albeit ticking up since March. Manufacturers
were their most optimistic since February 2025, and
thereby confidence was amongst the highest seen since the
pandemic. This was largely reflective of the recent upturn in
orders, additional investment in marketing and hopes of tariffled reshoring.

24

25

26

Source: S&P Global PMI. ©2026 S&P Global.

Index, sa, >50 = improvement m/m

65
60
55

45
40
35

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

Source: S&P Global PMI. ©2026 S&P Global.

Services PMI Input Prices
Services PMI Prices Charged

Manufacturing PMI Input Prices
Manufacturing PMI Output Prices

Index, sa, >50 = inflation m/m

90
80
70
60
50
40
30

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

Source: S&P Global PMI. ©2026 S&P Global.

US Composite PMI Output Prices

Consumer prices

% yr/yr

Index, sa, >50 = inflation m/m

75

12

70

10
8

65

6

60

4

55

2

50

0

45
40

-2
13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

-4

Sources: S&P Global PMI, Bureau of Labor Statistics via S&P Global Market Intelligence.
©2026 S&P Global.

© 2026 S&P Global

®

S&P Global Flash US PMI

Manufacturing PMI

Contact

The S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI rose to 54.0 in April,
up from 52.3 in March and its highest since May 2022. The
expansion means factory business conditions have improved
continually since last August.

Chris Williamson
Chief Business Economist
S&P Global Market Intelligence
T: +44-779-5555-061
chris.williamson@spglobal.com

Production growth accelerated to the fastest since April 2022
as new orders showed the largest rise since May 2022. Input
inventories also made a positive contribution, rising marginally
yet at the fastest rate since January. Supplier delivery times
meanwhile lengthened to the greatest extent since August
2022, further boosting the PMI, albeit in some cases linked
to supply constraints arising from the war in the Middle
East rather than vendors simply being busier due to high
demand. The only drag on the PMI therefore again came from
employment, which fell for the first time since last July.

Florence Bogitsh
Senior Communications
Manager, Americas
S&P Global Market Intelligence
T: +1-646-460-7204
florence.bogitsh@spglobal.com
press.mi@spglobal.com

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Methodology
Final April data are published on 1 May for manufacturing and 5 May for services and
composite indicators.
®

The S&P Global Flash US Composite PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to
questionnaires sent to survey panels of around 650 manufacturers and 500 service providers.
The panels are each stratified by detailed sector and company workforce size, based on
contributions to GDP. The services sector is defined as consumer (excluding retail), transport,
information, communication, finance, insurance, real estate and business services.
Survey responses are collected in the second half of each month and indicate the direction of
change compared to the previous month. The following variables are monitored:
Manufacturing: Output, new orders, new export orders, backlogs of work, stocks of finished
goods, employment, quantity of purchases, suppliers' delivery times, stocks of purchases,
input prices, output prices, future output.
Services: Business activity, new business, new export business, outstanding business,
employment, input prices, prices charged, future activity.
A diffusion index is calculated for each manufacturing and services variable. The index is
the sum of the percentage of ‘higher’ responses and half the percentage of ‘unchanged’
responses. The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall
increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease. The indices are
then seasonally adjusted.
Composite indices for are calculated by weighting together comparable manufacturing and
services indices using official manufacturing and services annual value added.
The headline figure is the Composite Output Index. This is a weighted average of the
Manufacturing Output Index and the Services Business Activity Index. It may be referred to as
the ‘Composite PMI’ but is not comparable with the headline Manufacturing PMI, which is a
weighted average of five manufacturing indices (including the Manufacturing Output Index).
The headline manufacturing figure is the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI®).
The PMI is a weighted average of the following five indices: New Orders (30%), Output (25%),
Employment (20%), Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks of Purchases (10%). For the PMI
calculation the Suppliers’ Delivery Times Index is inverted so that it moves in a comparable
direction to the other indices.
The headline services figure is the Services Business Activity Index. This is a diffusion index
calculated from a single question that asks for changes in the volume of business activity
compared with one month previously. The Business Activity Index is comparable to the
Manufacturing Output Index. It may be referred to as the ‘Services PMI’ but is not comparable
with the headline Manufacturing PMI.

Flash data are calculated from around 80-90% of total responses and are intended to provide
an accurate early indication of the final data. Since flash data were first processed, the
average differences between final and flash index values for the headline indices are:
Composite Output Index = 0.1 (absolute difference 0.4)
Services Business Activity Index = 0.1 (absolute difference 0.4)
Manufacturing PMI = 0.0 (absolute difference 0.3)
S&P Global do not revise underlying survey data after first publication, but seasonal
adjustment factors may be revised from time to time as appropriate which will affect the
seasonally adjusted data series. Historical data relating to the underlying (unadjusted)
numbers, first published seasonally adjusted series and subsequently revised data are
available to subscribers from S&P Global.
For further information on the PMI survey methodology, please contact
economics@spglobal.com.

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