The Indian manufacturing Lion roars again

Greater workplace activity led companies to scale up their buying levels and hire additional workers in September. That said, quantities of purchases rose at the slowest pace since June, while job creation remained marginal overall. Manufacturing   output   in   India   continued to increase in September, marking a nine-month sequence of growth. However, the rate of expansion eased since August and was relatively modest.

Amid  reports  of  orders  being  fulfilled  directly from stocks, post-production inventories fell again in September. Conversely, holdings of raw materials and  semi-manufactured  goods  rose  for  the  tenth successive month.

Average purchase costs increased at a faster pace in September, but one that was weak compared to its long-run trend. The main item reported to be up in price was steel. Data implied that manufacturers attempted to protect profit margins as output charges were raised further. Despite ticking higher, the rate of inflation was historically muted.

Elsewhere,  outstanding  business  volumes increased, while vendor performance deteriorated. Backlogs rose for the fourth straight month, which panellists associated with delayed payments from clients. Suppliers' delivery times, meanwhile, slowed as a result of raw material shortages.

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