Growth in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector regained momentum at theend of the first quarter with both output and new orders increasing atfaster rates than seen in the previous month, and new export ordersreturned to growth.
According to an HSBC monthly PurchasingManagers Index (PMI) report released on April 1, employment decreasedfor the first time since June 2013.
Meanwhile, the rate of cost inflation slowed and firms lowered their selling prices marginally.
Theheadline seasonally-adjusted - a composite indicator designed toprovide a single-figure snapshot of operating conditions in themanufacturing economy - posted 51.3 in March to signal a modestimprovement in overall business conditions.
The reading was upslightly from 51.0 in February and pointed to a seventh consecutivemonthly improvement in operating conditions.
Solid new ordergrowth was recorded in March, with the rate of expansion quickening tothe strongest in five months. Panelists reported a general improvementin demand across the sector.
New export orders also increased in March, following a marginal reduction in the previous month.
Growth of new orders led manufacturing firms to increase production for the sixth month running.
Moreover, the rate of expansion quickened from that seen in the previous month.
The rise in production helped firms to make inroads into backlogs of work during March.
Outstanding business in the sector fell for the fifth month running, albeit at the slowest pace in this sequence.
Increased output requirements led firms to raise their purchasing activity.
Inputbuying grew for the seventh successive month and at a solid pace whichwas only slightly weaker than the series record seen in January.
Despite this, stocks of purchases continued to fall marginally as inputs were consumed in the production process.
Stocksof finished goods also decreased, although the rate of depletion slowedsharply as a number of panelists reported that finished products hadbeen held in stock rather than delivered to customers.
Employment at Vietnamese manufacturing firms decreased in March, ending a seven-month sequence of job creation.
Panelistsindicated that the main reason for the fall in staffing levels was thatemployees had left in order to find jobs elsewhere.
The rate of input cost inflation slowed for the third consecutive month.
Althoughshortages of some raw materials had led suppliers to raise prices,falls in commodity prices in world markets had reportedly been behindslowing inflation.
In spite of the continued rise in inputcosts, manufacturers lowered their output prices marginally amid reportsof strong competitive pressures.
Suppliers' delivery times werebroadly unchanged. Where an improvement in vendor performance wasrecorded, this was linked to requests from firms for faster deliveries.
On the other hand, material shortages had led to delays in some cases.
"Thedecline of employment and input cost inflation reflect the bottlenecksof the economy: a mismatch between skilled labour demand and skilledlabour supply and sluggish pace of financial sector reform, which hasdampened consumer demand, dragging down price pressures," Asia Economistat HSBC Trinh Nguyen comments on the Vietnam Manufacturing PMI survey.-VNA
According to an HSBC monthly PurchasingManagers Index (PMI) report released on April 1, employment decreasedfor the first time since June 2013.
Meanwhile, the rate of cost inflation slowed and firms lowered their selling prices marginally.
Theheadline seasonally-adjusted - a composite indicator designed toprovide a single-figure snapshot of operating conditions in themanufacturing economy - posted 51.3 in March to signal a modestimprovement in overall business conditions.
The reading was upslightly from 51.0 in February and pointed to a seventh consecutivemonthly improvement in operating conditions.
Solid new ordergrowth was recorded in March, with the rate of expansion quickening tothe strongest in five months. Panelists reported a general improvementin demand across the sector.
New export orders also increased in March, following a marginal reduction in the previous month.
Growth of new orders led manufacturing firms to increase production for the sixth month running.
Moreover, the rate of expansion quickened from that seen in the previous month.
The rise in production helped firms to make inroads into backlogs of work during March.
Outstanding business in the sector fell for the fifth month running, albeit at the slowest pace in this sequence.
Increased output requirements led firms to raise their purchasing activity.
Inputbuying grew for the seventh successive month and at a solid pace whichwas only slightly weaker than the series record seen in January.
Despite this, stocks of purchases continued to fall marginally as inputs were consumed in the production process.
Stocksof finished goods also decreased, although the rate of depletion slowedsharply as a number of panelists reported that finished products hadbeen held in stock rather than delivered to customers.
Employment at Vietnamese manufacturing firms decreased in March, ending a seven-month sequence of job creation.
Panelistsindicated that the main reason for the fall in staffing levels was thatemployees had left in order to find jobs elsewhere.
The rate of input cost inflation slowed for the third consecutive month.
Althoughshortages of some raw materials had led suppliers to raise prices,falls in commodity prices in world markets had reportedly been behindslowing inflation.
In spite of the continued rise in inputcosts, manufacturers lowered their output prices marginally amid reportsof strong competitive pressures.
Suppliers' delivery times werebroadly unchanged. Where an improvement in vendor performance wasrecorded, this was linked to requests from firms for faster deliveries.
On the other hand, material shortages had led to delays in some cases.
"Thedecline of employment and input cost inflation reflect the bottlenecksof the economy: a mismatch between skilled labour demand and skilledlabour supply and sluggish pace of financial sector reform, which hasdampened consumer demand, dragging down price pressures," Asia Economistat HSBC Trinh Nguyen comments on the Vietnam Manufacturing PMI survey.-VNA
