The manufacturing sector in Indonesia, the largest economy in the ASEAN bloc, continued to expand in December, with higher output, purchasing activity, and employment, the S&P Global Indonesia Manufacturing PMI™ index showed on 2 January.
The S&P Global Indonesia Manufacturing PMI™ is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers. For the December PMI, data were collected in the period 6-16 December 2022.
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Indonesia Manufacturing PMI increased to 50.9 in December, from 50.3 in November. The rise was consistent with a sixteenth consecutive monthly improvement in the health of Indonesia’s manufacturing sector, while the rate of growth was the strongest seen since October, albeit marginal overall, S&P Global said.
Indonesia’s manufacturing production expanded at a faster rate in December than in previous months, driven by higher demand for Indonesian manufactured goods. The number of new orders rose thanks to better underlying demand conditions in December.
Indonesian manufacturers expanded their workforce numbers for the sixth straight month in December in order to cope with the growth in existing workloads and new orders, according to S&P Global.
“December’s PMI data pointed to improved conditions within the Indonesian manufacturing sector at the end of 2022. Quicker expansions in output and sales alongside easing price pressures were welcomed developments, though upturns in production and demand remained subdued overall,” Jingyi Pan, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.
“Moreover, renewed growth in inventory levels, underpinned by better demand conditions, were signs of a turnaround for the sector.”