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Regional variations remained marked, with business conditions being affected by, among other things, the possibility of US tariffs being imposed during the coming year.
The index is a composite one produced by J.P.Morgan and S&P Global Market Intelligence in association with the Institute of Supply Management and the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management.
Three of the five PMI sub-indices—output, new orders and suppliers' delivery times—had positive influences on the headline figure at the start of the year. In contrast, employment and stocks of purchases continued to decline.
January saw global manufacturing production nudge back into expansion territory following a mild contraction in December. The main factor underlying increased production volumes was a similar upturn in new order, a release from S&P Global market Intelligence said.
The growth was again led by India among the major industrial nations. The United States also saw a noticeable shift in its performance, with output growth hitting a seven-month high to break the five-month sequence of contractions registered before the turn of the year.
The rate of expansion also strengthened in China. Divergences between regions remained prominent though, with downturns continuing in the euro area, Japan and the United Kingdom, albeit at slower rates for the euro area and the United Kingdom.
Output PMI data broken down by sector also highlighted ongoing performance disparities. Growth in the consumer goods industry accelerated to a seven-month high, supported by a solid increase in new orders. Production and new business intakes in the intermediate goods category also moved back into expansion territory following recent declines.
Conditions remained weak at investment goods producers, with output and new business both falling for the eighth consecutive month.
New export orders contracted globally again in January. Although this extended the current downturn to eight months, the rate of decline was the weakest during that sequence.
Asia, excluding Japan and China, saw its strongest average growth since May 2024. Rates of contraction eased in China, the United States, Japan and the euro area.
The improvements in output and new order volumes in January were not reflected in the labour market. Staffing levels were reduced for the sixth consecutive month and to the joint-greatest extent over the past four-and-a-half years.
Increased employment in the United States, Japan and India was insufficient to fully offset cuts in China (fastest for nearly five years), the euro area and the United Kingdom.
Price pressures rose during January. Input cost inflation accelerated to a five-month high, leading to a steeper increase in selling prices at manufacturers.
Meanwhile, average supplier performance deteriorated for the eight month in a row. Input buying volumes and stocks of both purchases and finished goods declined.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)