CCTV News: China Federation of Logistics and Procurement and the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics announced the China Purchasing Managers Index for February on March 1. After the Spring Festival, the manufacturing industry resumed work and production quickly, market demand generally rebounded, and the manufacturing purchasing managers index returned to the expansion range.
In February, China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index was 50.2%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, returning to the expansion range. After the Spring Festival, all walks of life actively resumed work and production, and market demand generally rebounded. The new manufacturing order index in February was 51.1%, up 1.9 percentage points from the previous month. Driven by consumer policies such as exchanging old products and large-scale equipment renewal, and measures to promote the development of new technologies and new industries such as artificial intelligence, the market demand for high-tech products and consumer products has been released well. At the same time, the resumption of work and production in the manufacturing industry and the growth of investment demand have also driven the rebound in the market demand for basic raw materials. The new order index of the basic raw materials industry rose by 3.4 percentage points from the previous month, rising to a level of nearly 51%, a new high since April 2023. Based on the perspective, in February, market demand showed a general positive trend, and the endogenous momentum of the economy tended to consolidate.
Production activities have increased significantly, and new momentum output has increased significantly. Driven by the rebound in market demand, enterprises have achieved significant growth in production activities. The production index in February was 52.5%, up 2.7 percentage points from the previous month. The growth in output of new momentum is particularly obvious. The equipment manufacturing industry production index was above 54%, up nearly 2 percentage points from the previous month; the high-tech manufacturing industry production index was 53%, up 3 percentage points from the previous month.
Huo Lihui, director of the Enterprise Prosperity Department of the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that driven by the recovery of production and demand, the company's purchasing intention has increased, and the procurement volume index this month has significantly rebounded to the expansion range.
In addition, driven by the growth of market demand and the rising production willingness of enterprises, employment demand rebounded after the holiday, and employees returned to work quickly. The employee index in February rose by 0.5 percentage points from the previous month, the highest since May 2023, indicating that the number of employed people absorbed in the manufacturing industry has stabilized.
He Hui, vice president of the China Federation of Logistics and Procurement, introduced that, overall, the rebound in the manufacturing index in February was a structural recovery under the influence of two superpositions of seasonal factors and policy factors. The supply and demand sides have grown in a coordinated manner, and multiple sub-indexes have rebounded to historical highs, reflecting the good quality of economic recovery.
The supporting role of large enterprises has steadily strengthened
From the perspective of enterprise types, large enterprises have made rapid progress in resuming work and production after the Spring Festival, and the prosperity level has rebounded significantly. In addition, the price index continues to rise and the market vitality has increased.
The Purchasing Managers Index of Large Enterprises in February was 52.5%, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous month. The supply and demand of large enterprises have increased significantly in the short term, which is the core support force for the overall positive recovery of the manufacturing industry. In addition, the production index and new order index of large enterprises both hit new highs since April 2023, and the supporting role of large enterprises in the macro economy has steadily strengthened. However, the recovery of production and operation activities of small and medium-sized enterprises after the holiday lags relatively behind, and the prosperity level has declined.
In addition, from the perspective of price index, driven by the rebound in raw material procurement volume, the raw material procurement price index has rebounded. The raw material purchase price index in February was 50.8%, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous month. After operating below 50% for three consecutive months, it returned to the expansion range. Driven by the upward price of raw materials and the recovery of demand, the downward trend of finished products in manufacturing narrowed, with the ex-factory price index of 48.5%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month.
The expansion of non-manufacturing industries is accelerating, and infrastructure-related activities are accelerating. On March 1, the non-manufacturing purchasing managers index in February was also released simultaneously. Judging from the business activity index that reflects the overall operating conditions of the non-manufacturing industry, non-manufacturing business activities continue to expand and the growth rate is accelerating.
In February, China's non-manufacturing business activity index was 50.4%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, and has continued to operate above 50% this year. Huo Lihui introduced that from the perspective of the industry, the business activity index of industries such as air transportation, postal services, telecommunications, radio and television, satellite transmission services, capital market services, monetary and financial services are all in a relatively high prosperity range of more than 55%, and the total business volume of related industries has grown rapidly.
In addition, as the weather warms up in some areas after the Spring Festival, investment projects start one after another, and enterprises gradually resume production, the construction industry's business activity index has risen to the expansion range. The construction industry's business activity index in February was 52.7%, up 3.4 percentage points from the previous month. He Hui said that after the Spring Festival, investment-related demand has been released in a concentrated manner, construction companies have accelerated their resumption of work, and construction activities have shown an accelerated trend. Changes in sub-industry shows that infrastructure investment-related activities have been released particularly well.
Overall, in the first two months of this year, non-manufacturing industries maintained an expansion trend, operating smoothly, infrastructure investment-related activities accelerated, service consumption-related activities performed well, social financing demand was effectively released, and new momentum promoted the foundation for high-quality economic development to continue to consolidate.
