A manufacturing line of a Japanese agency in HCM Metropolis’s Tân Thuận Export Processing Zone. VNA/VNS Picture
HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese manufacturing sector remained in restoration mode in February, seeing progress speed up additional and confidence maintained, in keeping with IHS Markit.
In a report launched on Tuesday, IHS Markit mentioned the Vietnam Manufacturing Buying Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 54.3 in February, up from 53.7 in January and signalling a pick-up in progress for the fourth month working.
Enterprise circumstances have now improved in every of the previous 5 months following the disruption attributable to the Delta wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
In accordance with the report, the enhancing progress momentum general was once more supported by stronger buyer demand. New orders elevated sharply and the speed of enlargement quickened to a ten-month excessive. Enhancing worldwide demand was additionally reported in February, serving to result in one other marked rise in exports.
Larger new orders and secure enterprise circumstances contributed to a fifth successive improve in manufacturing manufacturing. As was the case with new enterprise, the speed of enlargement in output was essentially the most marked since final April.
Hopes of continued new order progress ought to the COVID-19 pandemic be introduced underneath management supported optimism within the year-ahead outlook for manufacturing, with greater than half of respondents anticipating output to extend over the approaching yr.
The report famous provide points continued to constrain output progress, nevertheless. Though producers elevated employment for the third month working in February, the speed of job creation remained modest amid ongoing experiences of employees not having returned from their hometowns because of the pandemic.
An additional marked lengthening of suppliers’ supply occasions was additionally recorded, though disruption remained a lot much less pronounced than through the Delta wave of the pandemic. The place lead occasions lengthened, respondents linked this to shortages of supplies and employees, in addition to points with worldwide delivery.
These constraints, alongside marked progress of recent orders, led backlogs of labor to extend in February following broadly no change in January.
Producers signalled an extra sharp rise in enter costs through the month, reflecting increased uncooked materials prices as suppliers upped their costs. Rising oil costs had been additionally talked about.
The passing on of accelerating value burdens resulted in one other rise in promoting costs, the eighteenth in as many months. The speed of inflation additionally ticked up from that seen in January.
Enter shopping for rose sharply in February as companies tried to safe inputs to help progress of manufacturing. In flip, shares of purchases elevated on the quickest tempo in ten months, and to one of many largest extents on report.
Shares of completed items additionally rose halfway via the primary quarter, albeit marginally. Respondents indicated that the rise mirrored not solely increased new orders, but additionally difficulties delivery completed merchandise to prospects amid transportation points.
Commenting on the newest survey outcomes, Andrew Harker, Economics Director at IHS Markit, mentioned: “The Vietnamese manufacturing sector continued to exhibit resilience within the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in February, with progress of each demand and manufacturing gathering additional momentum.”
“It is not all excellent news, nevertheless, as provide constraints limit output progress. Companies are nonetheless having issue engaging employees again to factories in massive sufficient numbers to maintain on prime of workloads, whereas uncooked supplies stay scarce. Producers will due to this fact be hoping that these constraints ease within the months forward and unleashing manufacturing within the course of,” he concluded. — VNS
