In August, China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was 49.4, up 0.4 point from the previous month, but was still below the 50-point market. The manufacturing prosperity picked up fractionally.
By enterprise scale, the PMI for big enterprises stood at 50.5, 0.7 point higher than in July; the PMI for medium-sized enterprises was 48.9, an increase of 0.4 point MoM; and that of small enterprises recorded 47.6, down 0.3 point on the month.
Among the five sub-indices that make up the manufacturing PMI, all of the indices stood below the 50-point mark. The production index was 49.8, unchanged from the previous month, indicating that the prosperity of manufacturing production was similar to that in July.
The new order index stood at 49.2, up 0.7 point on the month, alluding slightly improving demand in the manufacturing market.
The raw material inventory index recorded 48, a growth of 0.1 point from July, indicating that inventory of major raw materials in the manufacturing sector dropped more slowly.
The employee index rose 0.3 point to 48.9, reflecting that employment situation picked up slightly. The index for supplier delivery time was 49.5, a decrease of 0.6 point from the previous month, pointing to slower delivery of raw materials suppliers.
