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Indonesia's manufacturing PMI hits 10 year-high in March
Indonesia's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a record-high at 53.2 in March, up by 2.3 points from February. The rise was driven by strong growth in new orders and output.
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Workers assemble Isuzu Traga trucks at an Isuzu factory in East Karawang, West Java, on Aug. 3, 2020. Manufacturing has remained the backbone of Indonesia’s economy during the pandemic. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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ndonesia’s factory activity rose to its highest level in nearly 10 years in March as businesses felt a surge in new orders and output amid an economic recovery.
Business consultancy IHS Markit wrote in a Thursday statement that Indonesia’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 53.2 in March, the highest reading since the company started measuring Indonesia’s PMI in April 2011.
The March figure marked a rebound by 2.3 points after a slowdown in February. The second-highest PMI score Indonesia achieved was in June and July 2014.
Read also: Indonesian manufacturing slows in February
The PMI, a gauge of the sector based on a monthly survey of roughly 400 manufacturers, still stood above the 50-point threshold, which signaled a sustained improvement in business conditions since November last year. A reading below 50 suggests a contraction.
“The Indonesian manufacturing sector ended the first quarter of the year on a high, with firms ramping up production in response to the strongest influx of new orders in the decade-long survey so far,” said IHS Markit economics director Andrew Harker in the statement.
“These positive results add to hopes that the sector is on a fast upward trajectory, with the obvious caveat that the COVID-19 pandemic could hit back at any time.”
