Puerto Rico’s manufacturing activity index drops to 58.8 in July
The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Puerto Rico’s manufacturing sector decreased slightly to 58.8 in July.
However, numbers released by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics show that a reading above the threshold level of 50 suggests an expansion in the manufacturing sector with respect to the previous month.
The new orders and employment sub-indexes increased with respect to the previous month.
“On a very positive note, all the sub-indexes were at or above the threshold level of 50 except for the supplier deliveries sub-index. In a voluntary supplemental survey of manufacturing establishments, only 6% of the respondents indicated that their operations ceased following the health measurements taken by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics report.
Factors affected by the pandemic in the manufacturing sector were: a reduction in suppliers’ deliveries (53%), a reduction in demand (47%), a reduction in staff (35%), a reduction in inventory (24%), and others (24%).
The PMI has been at or above the threshold level in 70 of the 123 months since the survey was first undertaken. The index is currently available only on a non‐seasonally adjusted basis, which means that seasonal fluctuations can affect its performance.
In July, new orders increased to 67.6, being above the threshold for the second consecutive month. Production decreased to 55.9 in July, being above the threshold for the third straight month. Employment increased to 58.8, being above the threshold for the second consecutive month.
The supplier deliveries PMI decreased to 44.1 in July, after remaining above the threshold level for fourth consecutive months. Meanwhile, own inventories decreased to 67.6, remaining above the threshold level of 50 for the fourth consecutive month.
