Global manufacturing industry continues to weaken
- The condition of the global manufacturing industry seems to be worsening: That is according to the latest purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) for manufacturing published by S&P Global. PMIs are forward-looking indicators meant to signal the direction of the industry. They are based on subindices such as output, new orders, export orders, pricing, employment, inventories, and sentiment. A reading above 50 indicates growing activity—the higher the number, the faster the growth.
The global PMI—a composite of the PMIs of the 32 countries analyzed—fell from 49.6 in August to 48.8 in September, indicating accelerated decline in activity. All subindices worsened from August to September, and most of them were below 50. Of the 32 countries analyzed, only 10 had PMIs above 50, with the remaining 22 standing below 50. The countries with the highest PMIs were India, Philippines, Brazil, and Spain. The countries with the lowest PMIs were Germany, Austria, Turkey, and France.
The major countries/regions with growing manufacturing activity were the United Kingdom, India, ASEAN (Southeast Asia), and Taiwan. The major countries/regions with declining activity were the United States, eurozone, Japan, China, and South Korea. Within the eurozone, only Spain and Greece had growing activity.
The US manufacturing PMI fell slightly to 47.3 in September, indicating moderate decline. Output fell at the fastest pace in 15…
