Puerto Rico Manufacturing PMI numbers drops in July
The Puerto Rico Manufacturing-Purchasing Managers Index (PRM-PMI) for the island’s manufacturing sector decreased to 48.8 in July 2022, representing a contraction when compared to the previous month.
However, the report’s New Orders, Employment and Suppliers Deliveries sub-indexes increased with respect to the previous month. New orders and Employment were at or above the threshold level of 50, which suggests growth.
In a supplemental survey of manufacturing establishments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, factors affected by the pandemic in the manufacturing sector were a reduction in suppliers’ deliveries (42%), a reduction in staff (33%), a reduction in inventory (25%), and others (13%). In contrast, 21% of the respondents weren’t affected by the pandemic, the PMI showed.
Among the biggest challenges faced by companies during the past month were in the Human Resources area (absenteeism, recruitment, turnover, and absenteeism related to COVID-19 cases), delays in supplies deliveries and increase in production costs.
The PRM-PMI has been at or above the threshold level in 89 of the 146 months since the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association and the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics first conducted the survey that measures short-run business conditions in Puerto Rico’s manufacturing sector and provides a broad-based metric for the productive side of Puerto Rico’s economy.
In July, New Orders increased to 50, after being below the threshold in June. A reading at 50 suggests that new orders at manufacturing establishments in July were the same as in June.
Production PMI decreased to 43.8 in July, after being at or above the threshold for six consecutive months. Manufacturing production in July was lower than June.
In July, the Employment PMI increased to 52.2, after being below the threshold the previous month. The sector’s employment level in July was higher than in June.
In July, the Own Inventories PMI decreased to 37.5, after being above the 50-point threshold in June.
Meanwhile, Supplier Deliveries increased to 58.3 in July, being above the threshold for the 24th consecutive month. However, the speed of supplier deliveries in July was slower than in June, the report showed.
