News
October PMI at 45.4
By ECCT staff writers
Taiwan’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in October 2022 edged up by 0.5 points to 45.4 in October but remained in contraction mode for the fourth consecutive month. According to a press release from the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), among the five components, new orders, production and manpower employment tightened, supplier lead times declined, and inventories tightened.
According to the release, six major industry sectors all reported PMI contractions. Ranking in order of contraction speed they were as follows: electric power and mechanical equipment industry (38.8), electronics and optics industry (40.5), basic raw materials industry (43.0), transportation industry (46.4), Food and textile industry (48.8) and chemical and biotechnology medical industry (49.7).
The new orders index, which is a leading indicator of economic trends, has been in contraction for seven consecutive months, but the pace of contraction has slowed down, and the index has recovered, rising 5.1 points to 42.8. The seasonally adjusted production index rose 0.8 points to 44.6, in contraction for the fourth consecutive month. The manufacturing sector has contracted for the sixth month in a row, with the index down 3.5 points to 24.8.
Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing index lost 2.2 points to 50, ending three months of expansion, according to CIER.
