On April 30, 2021, the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing released the China Purchasing Manager Index. In this regard, Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician at the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics, explained.

In April, China' s manufacturing purchasing managers' index, non-manufacturing business activity index, and comprehensive PMI output index were 51.1%, 54.9%, and 53.8%, respectively, down 0.8, 1.4, and 1.5 percentage points from the previous month, all of which were still expanding. During the period, our country’s economic operation continued to recover steadily.

• The Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index continues to expand

In April, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index continued to expand on the basis of the obvious rebound of the previous month, and its intensity was weakened. It was still higher than the level of the same period in 2019 and 2020, and the manufacturing industry maintained steady growth. Main features of this month:

Firstly, the expansion of production and demand has slowed down. The production index and new order index were 52.2% and 52.0%, respectively, 1.7 and 1.6 percentage points lower than last month, indicating that production and demand continued to grow, but the growth rate was lower than last month. From the perspective of the industry, the production index and new order index of agricultural and sideline food processing, wood processing and furniture, computer communication electronic equipment and instrumentation are all higher than the previous month, and are in a relatively high boom range, indicating that the market demand in the above industries continues released, the production and operation activities of enterprises have further accelerated.

Secondly, the import and export index remained in the expansion range. The new export order index and import index were 50.4% and 50.6%, respectively, 0.8 and 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous month. They were in the expansion range for two consecutive months, reflecting the continued growth of manufacturing foreign trade business.

Thirdly, the price index is running at a high level. The purchase price index and ex-factory price index of major raw materials were 66.9% and 57.3% respectively, which were both 2.5 percentage points lower than the previous month and still at a relatively high level in recent years. From the perspective of the industry, the two price indices of ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing, non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing and other raw materials industries are higher than 70.0%, of which the ex-factory price index of ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry is higher than 85.0% for two consecutive months, indicating that the cost pressure of related industries continues to be transmitted downstream.

Next, the prosperity of small businesses has picked up. The PMI of enterprises of different sizes has remained within the boom range this month. The PMI of large and medium-sized enterprises was 51.7% and 50.3%, respectively, 1.0 and 1.3 percentage points lower than the previous month; the PMI of small enterprises was 50.8%, 0.4 percentage point higher than the previous month. The production index and the new order index were both for two consecutive months. The rebound indicates that the production and operation conditions of small enterprises have improved recently.

Then there is the overall stability of corporate confidence. The expectation index of production and operation activities was 58.3%, 0.2 percentage points lower than last month, but it continued to be in a relatively high boom range, and was significantly higher than the level of the same period in the past two years. The overall production and operation expectations of enterprises are improving. From the perspective of the industry, the expected index of production and operation activities in the agricultural and sideline food processing, wood processing and furniture, special equipment, electrical machinery and equipment industries are all higher than 60.0%. The relevant industry enterprises remain optimistic about the recent market development.

At the same time, some surveyed companies reported that problems such as chip shortages, poor international logistics, shortage of containers, and rising freight rates are still serious. The high-tech manufacturing supplier's delivery time index has been below 44.0% for three consecutive months. The raw material procurement cycle of enterprises has continued to extend, and normal production activities have been affected to some extent.

• Non-manufacturing business activity index is stable but slow

In April, the non-manufacturing business activity index was 54.9%, 1.4 percentage points lower than last month. The non-manufacturing industry still maintained rapid expansion, but the pace slowed down.

The service industry maintained a steady recovery. Driven by factors such as the Qing Ming holiday and the continued improvement of the epidemic prevention and control situation, the service industry consumer market has further rebounded recently. The business activity index of the service industry this month was 54.4%, 0.8 percentage points lower than last month, but 2.0 percentage points higher than the average value of the first quarter, reflecting the steady and positive momentum of recovery growth in the service industry. Among the 21 industries surveyed, the business activity index of 19 industries is in the prosperous range. Among them, railway transportation, air transportation, accommodation and other industries are higher than 65.0%, and the total business volume has maintained rapid growth. At the same time, the recovery of some industries that were severely constrained by the epidemic in the early stage has been significantly accelerated. The business activity index of accommodation, catering, ecological protection and environmental governance, culture, sports and entertainment industries are at least 1.8 percentage points higher than last month, indicating that residents' willingness to consume has increased significantly market activity.

The construction industry' s boom has been corrected. The business activity index of the construction industry was 57.4%, which was 4.9 percentage points lower than last month. It was still in a relatively high economic range, and the construction industry continued to maintain rapid growth. In terms of market expectations, the business activity expectations index is 64.8%, which has been in the high business range for three consecutive months, and the confidence of construction companies is stable.

• The comprehensive PMI output index has fallen

In April, the comprehensive PMI output index was 53.8%, which was 1.5 percentage points lower than last month, indicating that the overall production and operation activities of Chinese enterprises have slowed down. The manufacturing production index and non-manufacturing business activity index that make up the comprehensive PMI output index are 52.2% and 54.9% respectively.