In October, the purchasing manager index (PMI) of Chinas manufacturing industry was 51.4%, slightly down 0.1% from the previous month, but it has been continuously above the critical point since March, indicating that the manufacturing industry as a whole continues to recover.

In terms of the size of enterprises, the PMI of large enterprises was 52.6%, slightly higher than that of the previous month by 0.1 percentage points; the PMI of medium-sized enterprises was 50.6%, slightly down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month; and the PMI of small enterprises was 49.4%, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.

From the perspective of sub index, among the five sub indexes of manufacturing PMI, production index, new order index and supplier delivery time index are higher than the critical point, while raw material inventory index and employee index are lower than the critical point.

The production index was 53.9%, slightly down 0.1% from the previous month, but still higher than the critical point, indicating that the production of the manufacturing industry continued to grow.

The index of new orders was 52.8%, flat with the previous month, indicating a stable recovery in the manufacturing market demand.

The inventory index of raw materials was 48.0%, down 0.5% from the previous month, indicating that the inventory of major raw materials in the manufacturing industry has decreased.

The employment index was 49.3%, down 0.3% from the previous month, indicating that the employment situation of manufacturing enterprises has decreased slightly.

The supplier delivery time index was 50.6%, which was 0.1% lower than the previous month, but still higher than the critical point, indicating that the delivery time of raw material suppliers in manufacturing industry was faster than that of last month.

In this regard, the National Bureau of Statistics Service Industry Survey Center Senior Statistician Zhao Qinghe has carried on the interpretation.

Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index remains stable

In October, the PMI of the manufacturing industry was 51.4%, slightly lower than 0.1% of the previous month, but it has always been at or above 51.0% since July. It has been in the expansion range for eight consecutive months, and the manufacturing industry has continued to warm up. Main features of the month:

First, production and demand maintained a rapid recovery. The production index was 53.9%, slightly down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, and the new order index was 52.8%, which was the same as that of the previous month, both of which continued to be above the critical point, indicating that the manufacturing industry continued to rebound and demand improved steadily. In terms of industry situation, the recovery of some traditional manufacturing industries has accelerated. Among them, the production index and new order index of textile, chemical fiber, rubber and plastic products, ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing, nonferrous metal smelting and calendering processing, metal products and other industries have increased to varying degrees compared with the previous month.

Second, the import and export index rose synchronously above the rongkuo line. This month, the new export order index and import index were 51.0% and 50.8%, respectively higher than 0.2% and 0.4% of the previous month, both of which were in the expansion range for two consecutive months. The main reason is that the policy effect of stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment continues to show, and the recent recovery of manufacturing in the worlds major economic systems has further warmed Chinas import and export.

Third, demand continued to pick up, driving prices up. The purchasing price index and ex factory price index of main raw materials were 58.8% and 53.2%, respectively 0.3% and 0.7% higher than the previous month, both of which were near-term highs. Among the 21 industries surveyed, the purchasing price index of main raw materials in 9 industries and the ex factory price index of 11 industries were higher than that of last month. Among them, the two price indexes of textile, chemical raw materials and chemical products, chemical fiber and rubber and plastic products showed the most obvious increase, reflecting the increase of market activity of related industries.

Fourth, the confidence of enterprises has been continuously enhanced. This month, the expected index of enterprise production and operation activities rose to 59.3%, 0.6 percentage points higher than that of last month, and enterprises confidence in the development of the industry accelerated. From the perspective of industry situation, the expected production and business activities index of 12 industries, including textile, nonferrous metal smelting and calendering processing, general equipment, special equipment and automobile, are all in the high prosperity range of 60.0%, indicating that enterprises are optimistic about the market expectation.

The survey results also showed that the PMI of large and medium-sized enterprises were 52.6% and 50.6% respectively, which were basically the same as that of last month, and the operation was generally stable. The PMI of small enterprises was 49.4%, lower than 0.7% of the previous month, falling below the boom and bust line; at the same time, the index of new orders of small enterprises dropped, significantly lower than the overall level of the manufacturing industry, indicating that the market demand of small enterprises is particularly insufficient. In addition, some of the surveyed enterprises reported that with the recent rebound of overseas multi-national epidemic situation, enterprises are facing the pressure of lengthening the purchasing cycle of imported raw materials and increasing transportation costs.

(source: Bureau of Statistics)