The J.P. Morgan global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell slightly to 50.4 in December, down from 50.5 in November but above the neutral mark of 50 for the fifth consecutive month.
The index is a composite one produced by J.P. Morgan and S&P Global Market Intelligence in association with the Institute of Supply Management and the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management.
Two of the PMI components—output and suppliers’ delivery times—were at levels consistent with expansion, two others—new orders and employment—signalled no change and stocks of purchases declined.
National PMI readings signalled expansions in 18 out of the 29 nations for which December data were available.
India, Vietnam and Greece were the highest ranked countries. Growth was also signalled in the United States, China and the United Kingdom. Japan and Germany were among the larger industrial nations to register PMI readings consistent with decline, a release from S&P Global said.
Manufacturing output rose for the fifth successive month in December. Expansions were seen across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sectors, the fourth time in the past five months that concurrent growth has been registered.
Rates of increase were broadly similar across all three industries, representing mild growth decelerations in the first two and a return to expansion at investment goods producers.
December saw no change in the level of new business placed with global manufacturers, halting a four-month sequence of mild expansion,
The latest decrease was centred on the intermediate goods industry as both the consumer and investment goods categories registered expansions. Among the larger industrial nations, China, India and the United Kingdom signalled increases, whereas the United States, Japan and the euro area saw new business decline.
Part of the latest decrease in total new work reflected the ongoing downturn in international trade volumes.
New export business decreased for the ninth month in a row and at a slightly quicker pace than in November. All three of the sub-sectors covered by the survey saw new export orders contract.
The outlook for the global manufacturing sector remained mildly positive in December. Business optimism held steady at November’s five-month high despite remaining below the (rolling) survey average for the twenty-first successive month.
Staffing levels were unchanged in December, as jobs growth in nations such as the United States, Japan and India offset cuts in China, the euro area and the United Kingdom.
There were signs that current capacity was becoming more consistent with current requirements, as backlogs of work decreased only slightly and to the least marked extent during the current three-and-a-half-year sequence of decline.
Rates of inflation in input costs and output charges picked up in December.
