The end of the third quarter saw a slowdown in the rate of expansion of the global manufacturing sector. The J.P.Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI™ – fell to a 22-month low of 52.2 in September, down from 52.6 in August. Although the PMI has remained above the neutral 50.0 mark since March 2016, its level has now declined in each of the past five months.
Commenting on the survey, David Hensley, Director of Global Economic Coordination at J.P.Morgan, said: “September PMI data signalled a further growth slowdown in the global manufacturing sector, with rates of expansion in production and new order volumes both easing to twoy ear lows. The trend in new exports remained especially weak, with international trade flows declining for the first time since June 2016. Both domestic demand and export orders will need to strengthen if output growth is to regain lost traction in the coming months.”
In my view companies had build up inventories and stuffed the channels in anticipation of tariff and hence fall in global manufacturing could be quite severe in coming months.