Capacity tightened, currency eased, freight held amber.

Four indicators moved from Green to Amber across the quarter. Factory Capacity moved to Amber in August. Manufacturing Capacity, Production Lead Times and the Overall Procurement Outlook moved to Amber in September, as the desk recorded Q4 allocation pressure ahead of Golden Week. Currency Exposure moved the other way, from Amber in July to Green in August and September.

Raw Material Availability and Freight & Logistics were Amber in all three readings. Specification Risk was Green in all three readings.

Capacity and scheduling risk increased through the quarter. Manufacturing Capacity, Production Lead Times, Factory Capacity and the Overall Procurement Outlook were all Green in July and all Amber by September.

Currency Exposure was the only indicator to improve in status over the quarter.

The July reading of Factory Capacity noted Q4 firming on the horizon; the August and September Amber readings are consistent with that observation. The September Brief's attention to Golden Week scheduling is consistent with the blank sailings and regional freight firming recorded by Drewry in late September and reported in Market Pulse MP-004 to MP-006. The September Freight & Logistics trend of Improving referred to Trans-Pacific softening; regional Intra-Asia pricing subsequently firmed, and the October Brief records the trend as Declining. On currency, the AUD/USD ranges stated in the Q3 Briefs do not reconcile with the Reserve Bank of Australia reference rates recorded in Market Pulse during September; from October, Brief currency readings are recorded against RBA reference rates. Historical readings are shown as published and are not adjusted.