China Manufacturing PMI Monthly (May 2026)

China’s manufacturing PMIfallsto 50.0inMay,indicatingstabilizationinthe manufacturing Helen ChinE: helenchin@ust.hk William KongE: williamkong@ust.hk HKUST LI & FUNGSUPPLY CHAIN INSTITUTELSK Business BuildingThe Hong Kong University of Out ofthe13 sub-indices,11sawadeclinecompared withApril.Notably, the neworders indexdroppedby0.7pts to49.9inMay,signallinga slight contractioninmarketdemand.The new export orders indexdecreasedby 1.7ptsto48.6,marking areturn tocontractionaryterritoryafter a one-month expansion.Against this backdrop, the outputindexedgeddownby 0.3pts to 51.2inMay,suggestingcontinuedyet slowergrowth in PMIReport on China Manufacturing By size of enterprises,the PMI of“large enterprises”jumpedto51.1 in May from50.2in April.Meanwhile, the PMI of“medium enterprises”slippedto48.6 in May from50.5in April.Similarly, the PMI of“smallenterprises”declinedto48.5 in May from50.1 The output indexedgeddownto51.2 in May from51.5 in April.The outputindicesof“large enterprises”and“medium enterprises”remainedabovetheneutral level of 50,registering52.4and 50.3respectively inMay.Meanwhile, theoutput indexof “small The new orders indexdecreasedto49.9 in May from50.6 in April.The new ordersindexof“large enterprises”remainedinthe expansionary zone, registering 52.0inMay.Meanwhile, the new orders indicesof“medium enterprises”and “small enterprises” The new export ordersindexslumpedto48.6 in May from50.3 in April.The new exportordersindexof“large enterprises”remainedabovethecritical 50-mark,registering50.3inMay.Meanwhile, the new export orders indicesof“medium enterprises”and “small The backlogs of orders indexclimbedto46.8 in May from46.2 in April.Thebacklogsoforders indicesof“large enterprises”,“medium enterprises”and“small enterprises” The stocks of finished goods indexincreasedto49.3 in May from47.5 in April.Thestocks of finished goods indexof“large enterprises”returned to the expansionaryzone,registering50.6inMay.Meanwhile, the stocks of finished goods indices of“medium The stocks of major inputs indexdeclinedto48.6 in May from49.3 in April.The majorinputs indexof“large enterprises” rose to thecritical 50-mark,registering 50.0 in May.Meanwhile, themajor inputsindicesof“medium enterprises”and“small enterprises” The purchases of inputs indexdroppedto49.8 in May from51.1 in April.Thepurchasesof inputsindexof“large enterprises”returnedtotheexpansionaryzone,registering51.8inMay. Meanwhile, the purchases of inputsindices of“medium enterprises” and“small The imports indexwent downto48.8 in May from50.1 in April.Theimports indexof“large enterprises”rose abovetheneutral level of50,registering50.2inMay.Meanwhile, The input prices indexretreatedto60.5 in May from63.7 in April. Theinput pricesindicesof“large enterprises”,“medium enterprises”and“small enterprises”allremained Theex-factory prices indexdecreasedto51.9 in May from55.1 in April.Theex-factory pricesindicesof“large enterprises”,“medium enterprises”and“small The employment indexedged downto48.6 in May from48.8 in April.Theemploymentindicesof“large enterprises”,“medium enterprises”and“small enterprises”all stayedin The suppliers’ delivery time indexdropped to 49.2 in May from49.5 inApril.A readingabove 50 implies faster delivery; below 50, slower delivery. The suppliers’ delivery timeindices of“large enterprises”,“medium enterprises”and“small enterprises”registered The business expectations indexfellto53.9 in May from54.5 in April. The businessexpectations indices of“large enterprises”,“medium enterprises”and“small enterprises” CFLP 中國物流與採購聯合會 China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP) is the logistics and purchasing industryassociation approved by the State Council. CFLP’s mission is to push forward the developmentof the logistics industry and the procurement businesses of both government and enterprises, NBS 國家統計局 The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), an agency directly under the State Council in China, isin charge of the country’s statistics. It is responsible for formulating statistical policies andestablishing the national statistical system, drafting and enforcing the statistical laws and China Manufacturing PMI 中國製造業採購經理指數 China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) provides an early indication eachmonth of economic activities in theChinese manufacturing sector. It is jointly published bythe Every month questionnaires are sent to 3,000 manufacturing enterprises all over China. Thedata presented herein is compiled fromthe enterprises’ responses about their purchasingactivities and supply situations. CFLP makes no representation regarding the datacollection 3,000 manufacturing enterprises in 31 industries from Eastern, Northeastern, Central andWestern China are surveyed. Thesampling of the enterprises involves the use of ProbabilityProportional to Size Sampling (PPS), which means the selection ofenterprises surveyed is There are 13 sub-indicators in the survey: Output, New Orders, New Export Orders, Backlogs ofOr