The morale of Swiss purchasing directors deteriorated in September, according to the monthly study published by UBS. The increase in American customs duties is increasingly weighs on the industrial sector. The share of the companies concerned has reached a new record.
The PMI index fell in September by 2.7 points to 46.3 points in September, signaling a situation still tense in Swiss industry. The PMI once again fails to cross the growth threshold of the 50 points, UBS said on Wednesday in its monthly study prepared in collaboration with Procure.ch. This situation has continued since January 2023.
In detail, the component of the command book has dropped from 4.7 points to 40.5 points, indicating a marked drop in the dynamics of orders. The production component did not confirm the increase in August and, after a decline of 6.1 points, is again slightly below the growth threshold of 50 points.
The pressure on employment in the industry has also increased: the corresponding component fell from 2.2 points to 44.2 points. The delivery time component increased in September to reach 56.3 points, in particular in the electronic component sector, purchasing managers reported delivery delays.
In addition, stock reduction continued to buy as well as for sale. The respective components fell 0.5 and 5.6 points to be 45.2 and 44.3 points. On the positive side, the rise in prices for purchase slowed down in September. If price increases have still been reported for electronic components, price reductions have been observed in particular for stationery products.
The PMI for the service sector operated on in September and overcome the drop in summer months. The index went from 43.9 points in August to 51.3 points in September, thus crossing the growth threshold again. This recovery is due to an improvement in the situation for new orders and order books, as well as the dynamism of commercial activity, according to UBS.
Customs duties: more and more companies concerned
In its survey, the Big Bank also points out that the share of industrial companies having been affected by the increase in American customs duties in the last twelve months has marked significantly in September to reach 47%, a new record. This rate was still 41% in August.
Over the next twelve months, around 47% of companies expect an increase or an unchanged charge linked to commercial barriers, while only a few predict a decrease.
For service companies, the situation remained stable compared to August. Nearly three -quarters of those questioned said they had noticed any change related to customs duties during the past year, or wait in the next twelve months.
This article was published automatically. Sources: ATS / AWP
