Japan Manufacturing PMI

Last Release

Mar 31, 2023

Actual

48.6

Units In

Points

47.7

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	50.2 Points	2008-2023	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 increased to 48.6 in March 2023 from February of 47.7, which was the lowest reading since September 2020, a preliminary estimate showed. This was the fifth straight month of contraction in the sector, as both output and new orders shrank at the softest pace in five months, while a decline in new export orders moderated. Meanwhile, firms increased employment levels for the twenty-fourth month running, though the rate of job creation eased, with backlogs of work declining at a faster pace. On the pricing front, input cost inflation slowed to the lowest since August 2021. As a result, output cost inflation also eased. Vendor performance improved to the smallest extent for 29 months, as supply pressures eased further. Finally, business sentiment strengthened to a five-month high.