Latest data released by Markit - 2 March 2020
- Prior 48.5
The headline reading improves back to expansion territory after eight months of contraction, but this once again owes to a bit of a skew to the deterioration in supplier delivery times - something which was pointed out earlier here.
Markit notes that:
"Average lead times for the delivery of inputs also lengthened to the greatest degree in 15 months, reflective of disruption to global supply chains following extended factory shut downs in China related to the outbreak of coronavirus."
But there is some good news as both output and new orders returned to growth last month, hinting at slightly better conditions to start the year.
In short, there is reason to be optimistic and there is a slight improvement in manufacturing activity in February, but not as much as what the headline jump suggests.
