Global manufacturing orders fell at the steepest rate for 11 years in March as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak continued to cause factory closures, disrupted supply chains and hit demand, according to PMI survey data. None of the 30 countries for which IHS Markit survey data are available reported higher order book volumes, while only China reported any month-on-month growth of output, merely reflecting a stabilising of production at a low base after suffering a record decline in February. Excluding China, global output fell at the sharpest rate since April 2009.