China Manufacturing Growth Moderates, Costs Accelerate

Output and new orders continued to increase but at slower rates, while new export business also rose modestly. Employment saw its longest period of job creation since mid-2021, driven by rising work backlogs and capacity constraints.

Supply chain pressures intensified, leading to the longest delivery times since December 2022. Input price inflation accelerated to its highest level since March 2022, and output prices increased at their sharpest pace in four years, both exceeding long-run averages.

Despite these challenges, manufacturers maintain an optimistic 12-month production outlook, citing firmer customer demand, capacity investment, new products, and supportive government policies, though sentiment softened slightly from February's peak.