(24.08.2022) After a favorable period in spring 2022, small and medium-sized companies are again facing a more uncertain economic outlook. The Raiffeisen SME PMI index stood at 52.8 in July, well below levels seen at the beginning of the year.
The overall PMI SME index, which surveys nearly 200 purchasing managers, showed strong growth momentum between January and April 2022, before stabilizing in May and then recording a sharp decline in June (-6.8 points to 52.3). The slowing trend continued in July, with a slight increase in the overall index (+0.5 points to 52.8).
The production subcomponent is the hardest hit by this downturn: from a respectable 61.5 in May, it fell sharply in June to 52.6 and dropped a further 2 points in July to 50.6. According to the survey team, orders are not in short supply, but supply problems and shortages of skilled workers are affecting SMEs' ability to maintain their production levels.
In addition, the delivery time subcomponent has been showing high values for several months (68.1 in April, 63.3 in May, 60.4 in June, and 58.6 in July), but these reflect delivery problems rather than increased capacity utilization. If this factor were taken into account, the overall index would move a little closer to the threshold between growth and contraction (50).
Meanwhile, accelerating inflation is slowing down economic growth in the eurozone and the US, which indicates a decline in demand for Swiss products in the coming months.
Last modification 24.08.2022
