IHS Markit released its latest report on Myanmar’s Manufacturing PMI on April 1. The headline IHS Markit’s Myanmar Manufacturing PMI is a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance. It is derived from indicators for new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases. Any figure greater than 50 indicates overall improvement of the sector.

Myanmar PMI fell to 45.3, the lowest since survey began in December 2015, indicating contractions in output, new orders and inventories. Suppliers’ delivery times were also the longest on record.

“Myanmar’s manufacturers felt the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in March as the PMI fell to an all-time low of 45.3, indicative of a marked deterioration in the sector’s overall health,” Trevor Balchin, economics director at IHS Markit, said.

Many survey indicators hit record lows, including output, new orders, suppliers’ delivery times and manufacturing inventories. So, the 12-month outlook deteriorated markedly.

The latest figure signalled a marked decline in manufacturing business conditions in Myanmar, following stagnation in February that ended a survey-record 15-month period of continuous improvement.

The volume of new orders received by goods producers in Myanmar fell rapidly in March, following 16 consecutive months of growth. Firms widely linked lower demand to the coronavirus outbreak.

The sharp drop in new work heavily impacted production in March, with a record contraction registered.

Also, manufacturing employment in Myanmar fell in March as firms reacted to markedly lower levels of both new and outstanding business.

“The indices for output, new orders, backlogs and purchasing activity are all signalling rapid rates of decline, though employment has so far seen only a moderate reduction. With the global economic outlook extremely uncertain, the Future Output Index dropped to the lowest on record,” Balchin said.

The 12-month outlook for production darkened in March, reflecting firms’ concerns around the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmars-manufacturing-conditions-deteriorated-march-report.html