CAVEAT: Rush orders linked to remote working and learning benefited electronics suppliers, but they might not endure beyond next quarter, local executives have said

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 02, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

The nation’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month climbed to 56, the highest level this year after expanding for the second consecutive month, as most firms reported a business upturn ahead of the high season for technology products, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

However, the Taipei-based think tank cautioned against interpreting the latest PMI as a sign of a recovery, saying it only indicates that the operating conditions improved from one month earlier.

“Firms gained better order visibility in August, but cannot see the landscape ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” CIER president Chang Chuang-chang (張傳章) told a media briefing in Taipei.

The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with scores larger than 50 indicating expansion and points below the threshold indicating a contraction.    [FULL  STORY]