Purchasing Managers’ Index for August 2026

CANADIAN RELEVANCE69/100EVIDENCE CONFIDENCE82/100PRIMARY SOURCE ↗

01 / IN SHORT

China's manufacturing PMI rose to 49.8 in August 2026 from 49.2 in July, remaining slightly below the 50-point threshold. Production reached 50.4 and new orders 50.6, showing firmer factory activity and demand than the overall headline reading.

02 / WHY IT MATTERS IN CANADA

The improvement in China's factory production and new orders provides context for Canadian industrial suppliers monitoring potential demand. The PMI survey does not directly measure purchases of Canadian goods.

SOURCE EVIDENCE / ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Recorded measurements

REPORTING PERIODS: August 2026 · July 2026

49.8 index pointsManufacturing PMIAugust 2026

+0.6 pointsChange from JulyAugust 2026

50.4 index pointsManufacturing production indexAugust 2026

50.6 index pointsManufacturing new orders indexAugust 2026

49.2 index pointsManufacturing PMI (previous month)July 2026

Values retain their reported units and periods; figures with different bases must not be read as a single comparable series.

Source-linked evidence from this Development. Read official record ↗

WHAT HAPPENED

Manufacturing PMI reached 49.8 in August, up 0.6 index points from July but still below the 50-point threshold.
The production index reached 50.4, while the new orders index was 50.6, both above 50.
Large-enterprise PMI was 50.6, while medium and small firms recorded 49.4 and 47.9, respectively.

KEY NUMBERS

49.8 index pointsManufacturing PMIAugust 2026
+0.6 pointsChange from JulyAugust 2026
50.4 index pointsManufacturing production indexAugust 2026
50.6 index pointsManufacturing new orders indexAugust 2026
49.2 index pointsManufacturing PMI (previous month)July 2026

WHAT THE DATA SHOWS

The manufacturing survey improved, especially production and new orders, although the headline PMI remained below 50. These are diffusion-index levels, not manufacturing output growth rates.

OBOR analysis based on the cited source. Relevance and classification are analytical assessments, not objective measures. How OBOR separates evidence, relevance and confidence →

INDUSTRIES

Manufacturing

SOURCE

National Bureau of Statistics of China — Latest Releases · View source →