Factories Without Orders:Wave of Closures Spreading Across China's Manufacturing & Retail Industries

Recently, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics released a batch of data, which also showed that the Chinese economy has not prospered after the pandemic. Factory owners, small and medium-sized enterprises, and individual industrial and commercial companies are still struggling to survive.

On April 27, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics announced that from January to March, the total profits of industrial enterprises above the national scale reached 1.5167 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 21.4%. Among the 41 major industries in the industrial sector, the total profits of 28 industries fell year-on-year from January to March.

Chinese official industrial data released on April 30 showed that China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector fell from 51.9 in March to 49.2 in April, below the critical point, indicating a decline in the manufacturing industry's business climate. The number 50 is the dividing line for the PMI index. A PMI above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing activities, while a PMI below 50 indicates contraction.

The latest PMI report from the Chinese authorities also showed that the new export order index in April fell from 50.4 in March to 47.6.