Q4 UPTURN?Economist Annabel Fiddes said that the manufacturing industry had a solid start to the quarter, with the upturn looking broad-based and sustainable

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 02, 2016
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was 54.5 last month, marking its eighth consecutive month of expansion, although growth slowed from September’s reading of 56.5, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

The PMI is a gauge of the health of the manufacturing industry, with scores above 50 indicating expansion and scores below the threshold suggesting contraction.

The recovery failed to extend to service-oriented firms, with the non-manufacturing index sliding to 49.4, despite the high sales season, ending four months of gains.

“The manufacturing industry is still on course for recovery, despite the slowdown in pace,” CIER president Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) told reporters.     [FULL  STORY]