The growth rate of the global manufacturing sector continued to moderate at the end of 2014, with production and new orders both rising at the slowest pace in almost one-and-a-half years. At 51.6 in December, down from 51.8 in November, the J.P.Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI™ – a composite index1 produced by JPMorgan and Markit in association with ISM and IFPSM – posted its lowest level since August 2013. Note: Please note that the global manufacturing indices referenced in this release include flash PMI data for Japan in the calculations. This is due to a later release date for final Japan manufacturing data. Global manufacturing production rose for the twentysixth successive month in December. North America remained the prime driver of the expansion, as growth stayed relatively muted in both the eurozone and Asia.
There were also signs of further slowing in North America, however, as rates of output expansion eased in both the US (11 month low) and Canada (three-month low). The trend held up better in Mexico, with growth accelerating to a two-year high. Among the Asian manufacturing economies, Indonesia and South Korea all reported contractions of production, while China stagnated. India continued to perform strongly, with growth hitting a two-year peak, and a modest expansion was also seen in Japan (according to flash PMI data). Eurozone manufacturing production rose only marginally and at the weakest pace during the current one-and-a-half year sequence of expansion. Solid growth in Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands, alongside mild expansions in Germany, Austria and Greece were partly offset by accelerated rates of contraction in France and Italy. Elsewhere, growth slowed in the UK and Turkey, Russia stagnated and Brazil contracted.
