Prior was 52.4Today's March release showed the PMI rising to 52.3 from 51.6 in February, marking the eighth consecutive month above the 50.0 threshold and pointing to a moderate and accelerating pace of expansion. Both output and new orders posted solid gains, supported in part by precautionary safety stock building as firms sought to lock in supply and prices following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. However, growth was principally driven by domestic demand, as international sales continued to decline under the weight of tariffs and shipping disruptions.The conflict's impact was most visible on the cost and supply side. Input price inflation surged to its highest level since August, fueled by rising energy and fuel costs alongside ongoing tariff-related pressures on aluminum and steel. Factory gate price inflation hit a seven-month high as manufacturers passed on costs where possible. Supplier delivery times deteriorated at the sharpest rate since October 2022, with the war exacerbating existing shipping and port delays. Finished goods inventories fell for the first time in eight months as firms shipped directly from stock to compensate for production delays.Despite the pickup in activity, firms were cautious on hiring—staffing levels were broadly unchanged, with some companies opting not to replace departing workers. Business confidence remained positive but edged slightly lower, with energy prices and tariffs cited as key risks to the outlook.For background, the S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI is compiled from survey responses from purchasing managers at around 600 American manufacturers, stratified by sector and company size based on GDP contributions. Data are collected in the second half of each month. The headline PMI is a weighted average of five subindices—new orders, output, employment, supplier delivery times, and stocks of purchases—with readings above 50 signaling expansion.Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&PGlobal Market Intelligence“Faster growth of output in March points to encouragingresilience for US manufacturing in the face of theoutbreak of war in the Middle East. Business confidenceregarding output in the year ahead has also so farheld up well. This sustained resilience in part reflectsreduced concerns over government policies such astariffs, but also indicates that producers anticipate onlya short-term and modest impact from the war, which isclearly uncertain.“It remains early days in terms of the impact of theconflict, and a sharp rise in prices and delivery delayshas cast a cloud over the outlook, threatening to driveinflation higher, dampen demand and throttle supplychains. Factory input costs have already jumped higheron the back of surging oil prices and supplier delayshave become more widespread than at any time sinceOctober 2022, linked to the war exacerbating existingshipping, haulage and port delays.“Some manufacturers are hence reporting stock buildingas a precaution against future price rises or supplyshortages, and hiring has almost stalled in order toreduce staffing costs, underscoring the growing concernabout how the war might cause problems for factoriesin the coming weeks. If price pressures and supplydelays persist, demand, employment and productioncapabilities will inevitably start to be more seriouslyaffected.”Resilience is a nice theme to build on. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.