Manufacturing around the world is rebounding but the big driving force for that is China and India. A closer look at the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reveals just how important China and India are.
The index showed its highest level of improvement since 2004 and it was being driven by big highs in China, India, Taiwan and South Korea. While Western European and Japanese manufacturing showed signs of improvement, these were below the global average.
The Financial Times notes that differences between China and India became more distinct. The HSBC China PMI, compiled by Markit Economics, dropped to a three-month low of 55.8 in February, down from a record 57.4 a month earlier but India’s HSBC PMI index for February showed the country’s manufacturing sector growing at its fastest pace in 20 months, thanks to new orders. The index rose to 58.5 in February from 57.7 in January. Still, the decline in the Chinese numbers is not much to worry about, according to economists. As reported here , they say the Chinese economy is just taking a much needed breather.
Still, based on these figures India is leading the charge. In the long term, so is China. And that sends a signal to Australian manufacturers.
What do you think? What are the opportunities in China and India? And what are the challenges?
