PMI continues recovery for fourth consecutive month

This is the fourth consecutive month of PMI growth, according to a report released Tuesday by British research company IHS Markit.

Noticeably, new orders increased sharply and the rate of expansion quickened to a ten-month high. The rate of job creation remained modest amid ongoing reports of workers not having returned from their hometowns due to the pandemic. Raw materials remain scarce.  

“The Vietnamese manufacturing sector continued to demonstrate resilience in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic in February, with the growth of both demand and production gathering further momentum,” said Andrew Harker, economic director at IHS Markit.

"It's not all good news, however, as supply constraints restrict output growth.

Firms are still having difficulty enticing workers back to factories in large enough numbers to keep on top of workloads, while raw materials remain scarce. Manufacturers will therefore be hoping that these constraints ease in the months ahead and unleash production in the process."

Hopes of continued new order growth should the Covid-19 pandemic be brought under control supported optimism in the year-ahead outlook for production, with more than half of respondents expecting output to increase over the coming year./.