Sweden’s Swedbank Manufacturing PMI rose to 56.1 in August 2026 from a revised 55.7 in July, remaining above its long-term average of 54.3 and indicating continued expansion in the sector. The improvement was driven by stronger production (58.9 vs. 57.2 in July) and employment (57.6 vs. 56.0), even as overall order intake softened to 54.6 from 56.7.
Suppliers’ delivery times shortened slightly, with the index easing to 59.8 from 60.1, while inventories declined to 55.5 from 58.1. Export orders weakened, falling to 51.7 from 54.1, whereas domestic orders inched up to 54.7 from 54.2.
On the cost side, the index for suppliers’ raw material and input prices jumped sharply to 75.4 from 67.1, signaling renewed upward pressure on costs. Meanwhile, the production plans index increased to 66.9 from 65.8, still below the 70 threshold and therefore pointing to cautious rather than robust optimism among manufacturers.
