SMM PMI for Home Appliance Sector Slips into Contraction Territory in March

SHANGHAI, Mar 30 (SMM) – The PMI for the home appliance sector stood at 49.38 in March, down 3.01 points MoM and 2.45 points YoY. The seasonally-adjusted composite index stood at 45.69, down 13.39 points on the month and 2.02 points on the year. The index for production stood at 50.14, down 3.16 points on a monthly basis and 2.89 points on a yearly basis. The index for new orders fell 4.94 points month on month and 6.2 points year on year to 47.72. Home appliance producers kept 30.36 days of raw material inventories on average in March, down 0.05 day MoM. The number of days of raw material inventories is for reference only as the survey sample may have changed.

Summary: Home appliance producers maintained normal production this month, but new orders declined compared with last month. Some home appliances, such as kitchen appliances, are in the off-season. Affected by falling orders and rising raw material prices, the raw material purchase volume of home appliance companies declined. Most enterprises are optimistic that the demand will pick up in the second quarter.