Vietnam’s manufacturing sector strengthened at the start of the final quarter of 2025, as the latest S&P Global Vietnam manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose sharply to 54.5 in October from 50.4 in September. The improvement—the strongest since July 2024—reflected growth across all five sub-components: output, new orders, employment, suppliers’ delivery times, and stocks of purchases.

The sector reported notable gains in output and new orders, while employment expanded for the first time in over a year. Purchasing activity increased, signalling renewed growth in inventories, and business confidence climbed to a 16-month high. At the same time, inflationary pressures intensified, with both input and output prices rising more steeply than in September, S&P said in a press release.

Vietnam’s manufacturing sector gained strong momentum in October 2025 as the S&P Global PMI rose to 54.5 from 50.4, the sharpest improvement since July 2024.
Output, new orders, and employment expanded, while confidence reached a 16-month high.
Input and output prices rose at faster rates amid supply challenges, though overall optimism remained solid despite inflationary and weather-related pressures.

New orders surged for the second month running, driven by improving domestic demand and a slight rebound in new export business—the first in a year. This led manufacturers to boost production at the fastest pace since July 2024, marking six consecutive months of output growth.

Business confidence strengthened to its highest level in 16 months as firms anticipated continued growth in new orders and planned production capacity expansions. In response to rising workloads, manufacturers expanded their workforce for the first time in over a year. Backlogs of work rose at the quickest pace in more than three and a half years, partly due to adverse weather and flooding disrupting operations.

Flood-related disruptions also led to longer supplier delivery times—the most pronounced since July. Despite supply challenges, firms increased purchasing activity for the fourth consecutive month, leading to the first rise in pre-production inventories in over two years. Stocks of finished goods, however, declined slightly as companies fulfilled strong order volumes.

Input cost inflation accelerated sharply in October, with about 27 per cent of surveyed firms citing higher raw material prices and supply shortages. Output prices also rose more steeply, hitting a 40-month high, as producers passed on increased costs to customers.

Overall, the October survey results suggest that Vietnam’s manufacturing sector entered the fourth quarter (Q4) 2025 with robust growth momentum and rising optimism, though escalating cost pressures and weather-related disruptions remain key risks to watch.

“The Vietnamese manufacturing sector moved up a gear in October, seeing much stronger increases in output and new orders during the month. Positively, the strength of the expansions were sufficient to enable firms to take on extra staff and build inventories of inputs,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Whether these growth rates can be sustained in the months ahead remains to be seen, but there is clearly some positive momentum in the sector at present.”

“Inflationary pressures built again, however, and are now relatively elevated. For now, customers are happy to look through price increases and commit to new orders, but this may start to wane should rates of inflation pick up further,” added Harker.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)