Japan Manufacturing PMI

Last Release

Mar 31, 2024

Actual

48.2

Units In

Points

47.2

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

N/A

Time to Release

N/A

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
56.2 Jan 2014	29.6 Feb 2009	50.11 Points	2008-2024	Markit Economics

The Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI® is compiled by IHS Markit from responses to monthly questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers. The panel is stratified by detailed sector and company workforce size, based on contributions to GDP. Survey responses indicate the direction of change compared to the previous month. A diffusion index is calculated for each survey variable. The index is the sum of the percentage of ‘higher’ responses and half the percentage of ‘unchanged’ responses. The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease. The PMI is a weighted average of the following five indices: New Orders (30%), Output (25%), Employment (20%), Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks of Purchases (10%). For the PMI calculation the Suppliers’ Delivery Times Index is inverted so that it moves in a comparable direction to the other indices.

Latest Updates

The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI stood at 48.2 in March 2024, unrevised from a preliminary reading, and after a final 47.2 in February, which was the lowest figure since August 2020. It was the tenth straight month of contraction in factory activity, but the softest drop since last November, amid a softer reduction in output and new orders, with new orders shrinking the least in five months. Meanwhile, employment increased for the 1st time in three months and the strongest rate since last July, while backlogs of work fell at the 2nd-fastest in the current 18-month sequences. Buying activity shrank at the softest since last October, while a lengthening in delivery time continued due to disruptions in the Red Sea and Panama Canal. On the price front, input cost inflation eased to the softest since February 2021 while selling prices accelerated to a three-month high. Lastly, business sentiment remained positive amid hopes of a broad domestic and global demand recovery.