Purchasing Managers Index - May 1 2013
01-06-2013 16:15
PMI climbs to 51.9 in May – industrial economy improves as second half approaches
- The PMI rose by 2.3 points from 49.6 in April to 51.9 in May. This
increase was broad based, with four out of five component indices making
positive contributions to the composite PMI. After one month just below
the 50 mark, the PMI is back in the growth zone.
- New orders made the largest positive contribution to the PMI,
accounting for over half of the increase. The recovery in new orders was
primarily due to an improved order scenario from the home market, where
the index rose from 46.7 in April to 51.3 in May. New orders from the
export market fell somewhat from 51.8 in April to 50.8 but nevertheless
remain in the growth zone. The index for order backlogs dropped from
49.3 in April to 48.2 in May.
- The index for production plans grew from 55.9 in April to 59.1 in
May. This signals an increase in production for the next six months and
indicates an improvement in the underlying strength of the industrial
economy as summer and the second half of the year approach. The
production index climbed from 52.8 in April to 55.2 in May. The
employment index rose by nearly four points to 46.3, but remains below
the 50 mark, indicating that companies remain cautious when it comes to
hiring.
- The index for suppliers’ commodity and intermediate goods prices
increased by more than four points, landing at 41.6 in May. This index
level is still quite low, confirming that price pressure on commodity
and intermediate goods remains weak.
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