News
September PMI at 57.8
By ECCT staff writers
Taiwan’s official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for September dropped 4.3 points month-on-month to 57.8, according to a news release by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER). Although the figure marked the lowest level in 14 months, it was nevertheless the 15th consecutive month in expansionary territory, indicating continuing expansion for at least the next six months.
According to CIER, five out of six sub-indices remained in expansionary territory. The slowdown in the pace of expansion of shipments of memory chips, flat panels, smartphones and vehicles is likely the result of the lifting of lockdowns worldwide and the resultant drop in demand for devices used for remote work and education.
The CIER news release also noted that September was the first time since November 2014 that the client inventory gauge has stayed above the expansion mark for three straight months, warranting caution that inventories remain too high.
In addition, port congestion continued in the United States. The supplier delivery time index came in at 69.1 and has been above 50 for 11 consecutive months.
As for the outlook for the next six months, the index has expanded for 14 consecutive months, but fell by 5.8 percentage points to 55.5 in September, the slowest expansion rate since September last year.
Meanwhile the Non-Manufacturing Managers’ Index (NMI), expanded by 0.6 percentage points to 57.3%, marking the third consecutive month in positive territory.
