Manufacturing Continues Its Tentative Recovery

Manufacturing output continues to increase. Not by much, to be sure, but an increase none the less. For the third consecutive month, the purchasing managers’ index was above 50, the dividing line between expansion and contraction. May’s number was 53.1, down slightly from April’s 53.3, but May’s number is often lower than April’s and there [...]

Another Sign of Economic Spring

One more crocus on the lawn: the purchasing managers index for March rose for the first time in six months; the index, a measure of manufacturing activity, also broke through the the 50 level that divides contraction from expansion. The usual caveats about treating a single month’s numbers with caution, but it is a sign, [...]

Nike Cuts China Suppliers

Here’s a straw in the wind, and a bad one at that. Nike is dropping three of its China suppliers because of the global slowdown in demand for its sports shoes and apparel, and saying that more may follow as part of a global restructuring now in review. Nike uses 180 suppliers in China, so four [...]

Signs Of China’s Growth Slump Ending, And Stimulus 2

More signs of economic spring–or at least the ending of winter– and that last November’s 4 trillion yuan stimulus package is having some effect. The Purchasing Managers Index, a benchmark of manufacturing activity, rose for the third consecutive month in February, though at 49 it is still below the 50 score that marks the difference [...]

Happy New Year, We Can Only Hope

For those of you for whom it is, Happy New Year.
This Bystander took a short break but the global economic slowdown kept going regardless.  We return to find the latest monthly Purchasing Managers Index showing that industrial activity shrank in December for the third month running. At 41.2 the PMI is still well below the [...]

Pearl River Delta’s Silver Lining

If the Pearl River Delta were an emerging sovereign economy, there would be reason to believe that it was moving up the development ladder despite the global slowdown being caused by the global financial crisis.
The delta is the heartland of southern China’s manufacturing industry and many small and medium sized labor intensive light manufacturers are [...]

Smart Union Collapse Signals Deepening Economic Problems In Southern China

Workers seeking unpaid wages from Smart Union Group, a leading toy maker that went into liquidation on Friday, were still milling around outside the company’s Dongguan factory on Sunday, AFP reports.
The toy company stopped production at all its factories last week, leaving more than 6,000 workers looking to recoup unpaid back wages. Smart Union, which [...]