China - Purchasing Managers index





China: Purchasing Managers index

Mnemonic PMI.ICHN
Unit Dif. Index=50, SA
Adjustments Seasonally Adjusted
Monthly 0.2 %
Data Feb 2024 49.1
Jan 2024 49.2

Series Information

Source National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China
Release Manufacturers PMI
Frequency Monthly
Start Date 1/31/2005
End Date 2/29/2024

China: Business

Reference Last Previous Units Frequency
Purchasing Managers index Feb 2024 49.1 49.2 Dif. Index=50, SA Monthly
Industrial Production Dec 2023 6.8 6.6 % Y/Y, NSA Monthly
Change in Inventories 2017 9,585 8,053 100 Mil. CNY Annual

Release Information

For China, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is an index summarized and compiled through the results of the monthly survey of enterprise purchasing managers. It covers every link of the enterprises, including purchasing, production, logistics, and so on. It is one of the leading indexes which was commonly adopted by international society to monitor the macroeconomic trends, and played an important role in forecasting and monitoring.

The threshold of PMI is usually using 50 percent as the cut-off point for economic performance. If PMI is above (below) 50 percent, it indicates that the manufacturing economy is expanding (contracting).

  • Measurement: Diffusion index with central value of 50 (Dif. Index=50)
  • Adjustments: Seasonally adjusted (SA)
  • Native frequency: Monthly
  • Start dates:
    • 2017m1 (comprehensive)
    • Uniformly 2005m1 (manufacturing)
    • Uniformly 2007m1 (non-manufacturing)

The source writes:

The survey involves 31 divisions of manufacturing sector in the “Industrial Classification for National Economic Activities” (GB/T4754-2011). The survey sample was expanded from 820 to 3000 since January 2013. Due to the small sample size and lack of representativeness, some industries have been merged according to the similar homogeneity of industry, and there are 21 industries after merging.

3. Survey Methods

PPS (Probability Proportional to Size) sampling method was adopted in manufacturing purchasing managers’ survey. Using the divisions of the manufacturing sector as the selecting strata, the sample size of each division is proportional to its proportion of the value-added of the division to the total value-added of the manufacturing sector. Within the stratum, the samples are selected according to the probabilities proportional to their principal business revenues of the enterprises.

The survey was organized and conducted by staff members of survey offices, monthly through Online Reporting System of NBS by sending survey questionnaires to the purchasing managers of the selected enterprises.

4. Calculation Methods

The questionnaire of manufacturing purchasing managers survey covers 12 questions related to production, new orders, export orders, existing orders, finished goods inventory, purchase, import, purchase prices, raw materials, inventory, employees, suppliers, delivery time, production and business activities expectation and etc.. Diffusion index was calculated for each question, i.e. percentage of positive answers in number of enterprises plus half of the percentage in the same answers.

PMI is a composite index, which was calculated according to five diffusion indices (group indices) and their weights. 5 group indices and their weights are determined in accordance with their leading impact on the economy. Specifically, new orders index weighted 30 percent; production index weighted 25 percent; employees index weighted 20 percent; supplier delivery time index weighted 15 percent; raw materials inventory index weighted 10 percent. Of which, the supplier delivery time index is a converse index, and contrary calculation is needed when combines it into PMI.

Yes. Data are revised when new data becomes available.

The purchasing managers’ survey is a monthly survey, the data of the survey fluctuates very much for the influences of seasonal factors. The released PMI composite index and sub-indices are seasonally adjusted.