News
November PMI falls to 46.8
By ECCT staff writers, CIER
The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research reported that the seasonally adjusted manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) for November fell by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month to 46.8, contracting for the ninth consecutive month. According to CIER’s news release on the monthly PMI results, of the five component indicators, new orders, production, and human recruitment showed contraction, and inventories also continued to shrink, from an already low level.
CIER president Yeh Chun-hsien (葉俊顯) told reporters at a press conference to announce the results that although companies are still looking for clearer signs of a recovery, they are less pessimistic about business prospects in the coming six months, Yeh said.
The critical subindex of new business orders edged up 0.3 points to 48.6, closer to the neutral mark, as companies in the biotechnology, food and textile, as well as raw materials, saw business pick up, while other sectors remained weighed down by tepid end-market demand. The reading on industrial production dropped 1.2 points to 48.2, as some manufacturers cut capacity to save on operating costs. As a result, the employment measure dropped 0.7 points to 47.9, according to CIER.
The subindex on inventory declined an insignificant 0.1 points, while the reading for clients’ inventory fell 3.1 points to 41.6, reflecting a conservative and frugal attitude, according to Yeh. Although the worst is likely over, a concrete recovery remains elusive in terms of order visibility and other PMI data, Yeh said. The reading for the six-month business outlook gained 2.7 points to 42.5, it said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s non-manufacturers fared better with the non-manufacturing index (NMI) gaining 3 points to 56.2, the highest level since August last year and in expansionary territory for the 13th consecutive month.
