Manufacturing Slows for Third Straight Month

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Aug. 2 – Manufacturing in China has slowed considerably since the beginning of the year, posting the weakest numbers in over a year this July as the government clamped down on property speculation and investment in polluting and energy-intensive industries.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index, a comprehensive gauge of industrial activity, eased 0.9 percentage points from a month earlier to 51.2 percent in July, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on Sunday.

The PMI includes a package of indices that measure performance in the manufacturing sector. A reading above 50 percent indicates economic expansion, while that below 50 percent indicates contraction.

The official PMI figures showed slight growth in July, according to an independent HSBC China Manufacturing PMI survey, but manufacturing activity contracted last month, falling to 49.4 percent from 50.4 percent in June. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing reported the June PMI at 52.1 percent.

HSBC bases their results on interviews with purchasing managers at more than 400 companies, while the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing survey covers more than 700 firms.