FACTORY DEMAND WEAKENS ACROSS MAJOR ECONOMIES IN OCTOBER: GEP GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY INDEX

Suppliers feeding Asia also reported spare capacity in October, albeit to a lesser degree than we're seeing in Western markets. This is due to the sustained strong expansion of certain manufacturing industries, such as India's. Notably, in October, China's factory production growth rebounded, and procurement activity rose after three months of contraction, although Japanese and South Korean producers made fewer purchases — an adverse leading indicator for manufacturing in these economies.

Europe's industrial plight remained a key feature of the data in October. Vendor capacity was significantly underutilized, reflecting a continuation of subdued demand in key manufacturing hubs across the continent. Germany's retrenching automotive manufacturing sector is a major headwind to factory output in Europe.

Additionally, October is the 14^th consecutive month that the items in short supply indicator has been negative.  This shows an excess supply of commodities and intermediate goods relative to current manufacturing demand globally.

"We're in a buyers' market. October is the fourth straight month that suppliers worldwide reported spare capacity, with notable contractions in factory demand across North America and Europe, underscoring the challenging outlook for Western manufacturers," explained Todd Bremer, vice president, GEP. "President-elect Trump inherits U.S. manufacturers with plenty of spare capacity while in contrast, China's modest rebound and strong expansion in India demonstrate greater resilience in Asia."

OCTOBER 2024 KEY FINDINGS

REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY

For more information, visit www.gep.com/volatility.
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The next release of the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index will be 8 a.m. ET, Dec. 11, 2024.

About the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index 
The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index is produced by S&P Global and GEP. It is derived from S&P Global's PMI^® surveys, sent to companies in over 40 countries, totaling around 27,000 companies. The headline figure is a weighted sum of six sub-indices derived from PMI data, PMI Comments Trackers and PMI Commodity Price & Supply Indicators compiled by S&P Global.

A Supply Chain Volatility Index is also published at a regional level for Europe, Asia, North America and the U.K. For more information about the methodology, click here.

About GEP
GEP^® delivers AI-powered procurement and supply chain solutions that help global enterprises become more agile and resilient, operate more efficiently and effectively, gain competitive advantage, boost profitability and increase shareholder value. Fresh thinking, innovative products, unrivaled domain expertise, smart, passionate people — this is how GEP SOFTWARE™, GEP STRATEGY™ and GEP MANAGED SERVICES™ together deliver procurement and supply chain solutions of unprecedented scale, power and effectiveness. Our customers are the world's best companies, including more than 1,000 Fortune 500 and Global 2000 industry leaders who rely on GEP to meet ambitious strategic, financial and operational goals. A leader in multiple Gartner Magic Quadrants, GEP's cloud-native software and digital business platforms consistently win awards and recognition from industry analysts, research firms and media outlets, including Gartner, Forrester, IDC, ISG, and Spend Matters. GEP is also regularly ranked a top procurement and supply chain consulting and strategy firm, and a leading managed services provider by ALM, Everest Group, NelsonHall, IDC, ISG and HFS, among others. Headquartered in Clark, New Jersey, GEP has offices and operations centers across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. To learn more, visit www.gep.com.

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