Purchasing Managers´ Index

• The PMI fell to 50.1 in April, down from 54.7 in March, which means that the cooling trend in the Swedish industry that began in 2007 is still under way, and has now reached the lowest level since September 2003. Monthly fluctuations should be interpreted with caution. This doesn’t change the fact that the Swedish manufacturing is showing a weaker level of activity than it did at the end of last year.
  
  
  

• Of the PMI's five component indices, new orders saw the largest decline in April compared to March, falling 9.4 points. The index for order backlogs fell below the 50 mark as well, which raises questions about the strength of the Swedish industrial economy. The production index remains in the growth zone, however, despite weaker order bookings.
  
  
  

• The index for delivery times dropped 5 points in April, which is a sign that demand pressure in industry has continued to shrink.
  
  

• The employment index went below the 50 mark in April, breaking the hiring trend in industry. A less than ideal order situation as well as rising material and labor costs are putting pressure on Swedish manufacturing companies to streamline.
  
  

• The index for industrial companies' production plans for the next six months dropped further to 61.9 in April – the lowest level since September 2003. This indicates that companies have less optimistic expectations for the future economy than they did at the beginning of 2008.
  
  

• Commodity and intermediate goods prices continued to rise, despite a subdued industrial economy and strengthening of the Swedish krona against the dollar. Though the index dropped marginally to 69.6 in April, compared to 70.4 in March, the majority of companies are reporting rising commodity and intermediate goods prices.