The manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) in China was 50.8% in April 2020, 1.2 percentage points lower than the previous month; the non-manufacturing business activity index was 53.2%, 0.9 percentage point higher than the previous month; and, the comprehensive PMI output index was 53.4%, 0.4 percentage point higher.
Manufacturing PMI
In April 2020, China’s manufacturing PMI was 50.8%, down by 1.2 percentage points from the previous month according to National Bureau of Statistics of China.
The PMI of large and medium was 51.1% and 50.2% respectively, down 1.5 and 1.3 percentage points; small enterprises PMI was 51.0%, 0.1 percentage point higher than that of last month.
The five sub-indices composing PMI, the production index, new orders index, employment index, and supplier distribution time index were all above the threshold while the main raw materials inventory index stayed below the threshold.
- Production index was 53.7%, down by 0.4 percentage point from last month but still above 50.0%, indicating that the manufacturing production continually increased month on month.
- New orders index was 50.2%, down by 1.8 percentage points from last month, indicating that the growth rate of manufacturing market demand narrowed on a month on month basis.
- Main raw materials inventory index was 48.2%, lower 0.8 percentage point than last month, indicating that the pace of decline of main raw material inventory in the manufacturing industry had enlarged.
- The employment index was 50.2%, dropped by 0.7 percentage point than last month but still higher than the threshold, indicating that the number of manufacturing enterprises returning to work had increased continually.
- Supplier distribution time index was 50.1%, rose by 1.9 percentage points than last month, indicating that the delivery time of raw material suppliers in the manufacturing industry was faster than last month.
Non-manufacturing PMI
In April 2020, China’s non-manufacturing business activities index was 53.2%, up by 0.9 percentage point than the previous month.
The construction business activity index was 59.7%, up by 4.6 percentage points. The service business activity index was 52.1%, up by 0.3 percentage point from last month.
The business activity index of the retail industry, catering industry, information transmission software, and information technology service was more than 55.0% while that of the accommodation industry, culture, sports and entertainment industry, and residential service industry was less than 45.0%.
The new orders index was 52.1%, up by 2.9 percentage points from the previous month. The new order index of construction industry was 53.2%, up by 4.8 percentage points over last month; that of service industry was 51.9%, which rose by 2.6 percentage points from March 2020.
The input price index was 49.0%, 0.4 percentage point lower than that of last month and still stayed below the threshold, indicating that the overall input price used by non-manufacturing enterprises for business activities was continually decreasing.
The construction industry input price index was 49.3%, 3.2 percentage points lower than the previous month; the service industry input price index was 48.9%, unchanged over March.
The sales price index was 45.4%, down by 0.7 percentage point, indicating that the overall decline of sales price of non-manufacturing industry had enlarged.
The sales price index of the construction industry was 50.2%, down by 2.3 percentage points from last month; the sales price index of the service industry was 44.6%, down by 0.3 percentage point from last month.
The employment index was 48.6%, up by 0.9 percentage point from the previous month. In terms of industry, the employment index of the construction industry was 57.1%, up by 4.0 percentage points from last month; that of service industry was 47.1%, rose by 0.4 percentage point from last month.
Business activities expectation index was 60.1%, higher 2.8 percentage points than last month. The business activities expectation index in construction industry was 65.4%, 5.5 percentage points higher; that of service industry was 59.2%, 2.4 percentage points higher than last month.
In April 2020, the comprehensive PMI output index was 53.4%, 0.4 percentage point higher than that of March 2020.
Weak demand has prompted manufacturers to reduce their payrolls at a faster pace in April, according to a Caixin survey showed, while companies slashed their selling prices for the third straight month. The contraction seen in the Caixin survey was worse than China’s official factory PMI.
Only China saw any output growth in April, and even here the rise was muted due to falling demand, notably for exports. All other countries saw output trends deteriorate, with record rates of decline recorded in 26 of the 32 countries surveyed by IHS Markit.