The services sector expanded for the 13th straight month in June, as more businesses reopened with the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.
- The Services PMI grew fell 3.9 percentage points to 60.1% versus May’s record-high 64%. Growth was recorded among 16 services industries led by arts, entertainment and recreation, transportation and warehousing, and whole and retail trade.
- A growing trend was recorded in business activity, new orders, order backlogs, new exports, and imports. The trend was slowing in supplier deliveries while inventories were directed towards a contraction.
- Firms said conditions continue to improve, but supply chain issues also continue to hit the industry with cost increases, delayed shipments, and uncertainty when predictive balance returns to the market.
- Restaurant sales have returned to 2019 levels, with strong consumer demand. Headwinds for the industry are supply chain outages, logistics delays, and staffing constraints.
The decline in new COVID-19 cases has pushed operations to pick up rapidly, with preparations for the coming months already underway.
Source: Institute for Supply Management