Global Manufacturing PMI as reported by IHS Markit, dropped to an 11 year low as all nations but China suffered sharp drops in factory activity. China’s improvement was negligible.
According to IHS officials who compiles the data for The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI, across 30 countries, activity dropped to 39.7 in April from 47.3 in March. Any figure below 50 signals contraction.
Global manufacturing collapsed at a rate not seen since the height of the global financial crisis in April as increasingly widespread measures taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic led to factory closures, slumping demand and supply chain delays.
By country, only China saw any output growth, and even here the rise was muted due to falling demand, notably for exports. All other countries saw output trends deteriorate, with record rates of decline recorded in 26 of the 32 countries surveyed by IHS Markit. Excluding China, global output consequently fell to an extent exceeding that seen even during 2009.
The data are another sign that the global economy is headed toward a depression if the spread for COVID-19 does not abate.
The reported concluded:
However, the concern is that global demand for manufacturers will remain well below that seen prior to the pandemic for some time. Both businesses and consumers are likely to remain cautious in relation to spending as uncertainty persists and unemployment spikes higher. There is therefore a strong possibility of growth fading again after an initial rebound.
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