Purchasing Managers Index for March 2021

1. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index

In March 2021, China's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was 51.9 percent, 1.3 percentage points higher than that of last month, and the climate of manufacturing industry recovered.

In terms of enterprise scale, the PMI of large, medium and small-sized enterprises was 52.7, 51.6 and 50.4 percent, which was 0.5, 2.0 and 2.1 percentage points higher than that of last month, all stayed above the threshold.

According to the classification index, the five sub-indices composing PMI, the production index, new orders index and employment index were all above the threshold, while supplier distribution time index stayed at the threshold, and raw materials inventory index stayed below the threshold.

Production index was 53.9 percent, up by 2.0 percentage points from last month, stayed above the threshold, indicating that the production expansion of manufacturing industry was faster than that of last month.

New orders index was 53.6 percent, up by 2.1 percentage points from last month, stayed above the threshold, indicating that the demand of the manufacturing industry  grew rapidly.

The inventory index of raw materials was 48.4 percent, up by 0.7 percentage point over last month and below the threshold, indicating that the decline of inventory of main raw materials in manufacturing industry narrowed.

The employment index was 50.1 percent, up by 2.0 percentage points from the previous month, stayed above the threshold, indicating that the employment outlook of manufacturing enterprises increased slightly compared with that of last month.

The supplier delivery time index was 50.0 percent, which was 2.1 percentage points higher than the previous month, but stayed at the threshold, indicating that the delivery time of raw material suppliers in manufacturing industry had little change compared with that of last month.

2. Non-manufacturing purchasing managers index

In March, the non-manufacturing business activity index was 56.3 percent, which was 4.9 percentage points higher than that of last month, indicating that the expansion of non-manufacturing industry had accelerated.

In terms of industry, the construction industry business activity index was 62.3 percent, 7.6 percentage points higher than last month. The business activity index of service industry was 55.2 percent, 4.4 percentage points higher than that of last month. From the perspective of industry situation, the business activity index of 21 service industries surveyed were all above the threshold. Among them, the business activity index of railway transportation, air transportation, telecommunication, radio and television satellite transmission services, Internet software and information technology services, monetary and financial services, insurance were in the high prosperity range of more than 60 percent.

The new orders index was 55.9 percent, up by 7.0 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the demand of non-manufacturing market increased from the previous month. By industry, the new order index of the construction industry was 59.0 percent, up by 5.6 percentage points over the previous month; the new order index of the service industry was 55.4 percent, up by 7.3 percentage points over the previous month.

The price index of inputs was 56.2 percent, up by 1.5 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the prices of inputs used by non-manufacturing enterprises for business activities rose in general. In terms of different industries, the price index of construction inputs was 63.6 percent, up by 3.4 percentage points over the previous month; the price index of service inputs was 54.8 percent, up by 1.1 percentage points over the previous month.

The sales price index was 52.2 percent, an increase of 2.1 percentage points over the previous month, indicating that the overall increase in the sales price of non-manufacturing industries had increased. By industry, the sales price index of the construction industry was 55.0 percent, up 2.5 percentage points over the previous month; the sales price index of the service industry was 51.7 percent, up by 2.0 percentage points over the previous month.

The employment index was 49.7 percent, up by 1.3 percentage points from last month, indicating that the employment outlook of non-manufacturing industries continued to rise. In terms of industries, the employment index of the construction industry was 55.0 percent, up by 0.8 percentage point over the previous month; the employment index of the service industry was 48.8 percent, up by 1.4 percentage points over the previous month.

The expected index of business activities was 63.7 percent, which was 0.3 percentage point lower than that of last month, but continued to be in the high economic zone, indicating that non-manufacturing enterprises remained optimistic about the development of the industry. By industry, the expected index of business activities in the construction industry was 68.1 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from last month; the expected index of business activities in the service industry was 62.9 percent, down 0.3 percentage point from last month.

3. Composite PMI Output Index

In March, the comprehensive PMI output index was 55.3 percent, which was 3.7 percentage points higher than that of last month, indicating that the production and operation activities of Chinese enterprises had accelerated in general.