Vietnam PMI October 2026: Output growth maintained, but price and supply headwinds

Admin
Nov 02, 2026

Cimigo Vietnam market research has collected the Vietnam PMI – manufacturing purchasing managers index since 2013. S&P Global compiles the Vietnam PMI S&P Global from responses to monthly questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.

Vietnam PMI October 2026:  Output growth maintained, but price and supply headwinds intensify

  • Solid but slower rises in output and new orders.
  • Cost inflation quickens amid higher oil, fuel and transportation prices.
  • Substantial lengthening of suppliers’ delivery times.

Vietnam PMI findings

Vietnam PMI October 2026

Vietnam PMI October data pointed to continued expansion in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector, although price increases and supply issues limited growth in some cases. Output and new orders rose at slower rates, while employment ticked lower. Higher costs for oil, fuel and transportation contributed to the fastest rise in input prices since June, and suppliers’ delivery times lengthened to a greater extent.

The S&P Global Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI®) ticked up to 52.3 in October from 51.9 in September, pointing to a further modest monthly strengthening in the health of the sector at the start of the fourth quarter. Business conditions have now improved in 16 consecutive months.

The extent of the overall improvement in operating conditions was limited, however, by softer rises in output and new orders. Total new business was up for the sixth month running despite an ongoing drag from falling new export orders. The rate of expansion was solid, but the slowest in the current growth sequence.

With new orders increasing amid stronger customer demand, manufacturing production expanded again in October. Nonetheless, here too the pace of growth eased and was at a six-month low. Some respondents indicated that difficulties obtaining raw materials had limited production growth. Transportation difficulties were evident in data on suppliers’ delivery times, which lengthened markedly and to the largest extent since April. Rising fuel prices and poor weather conditions were among the factors leading to transportation delays, according to respondents.

Difficulties importing goods and the use of inputs to support production meant that stocks of purchases decreased solidly, despite sustained growth of input buying as companies made efforts to secure goods in order to support production. Rising transportation costs were also central to the latest rise in input prices as higher costs for oil pushed up fuel prices.

The rate of inflation quickened for the second month running and was the fastest since June, albeit still well below the spike seen following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. In turn, output prices also increased at a sharper pace, following only a slight rise in September.

Vietnam PMI October Trend

Employment decreased for the third consecutive month in October, falling slightly amid some reports of staff resignations. Despite the drop in workforce numbers, softer new order growth and more efficient processing of outstanding business meant that firms were able to deplete backlogs of work modestly.

Stocks of finished goods also fell as firms used the sale of warehoused goods to draw down inventories. Post-production stocks decreased markedly, albeit to a slightly lesser degree than was the case in September. Hopes for better raw material availability and further improvements in market conditions supported optimism in the 12-month outlook for production. Teh Vietnam PMI sentiment hit an eight month high but was still weaker than prior to the war in the Middle East.

The S&P Global Vietnam Manufacturing PMI® is compiled by S&P Global from responses to monthly questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers. The panel is stratified by detailed sector and company workforce size, based on contributions to GDP.

Survey responses are collected by Cimigo Vietnam in the second half of each month and indicate the direction of change compared to the previous month. A diffusion index is calculated for each survey variable. The index is the sum of the percentage of ‘higher’ responses and half the percentage of ‘unchanged’ responses.

The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease. The indices are then seasonally adjusted.

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