Myanmar factory output slumps; PMI at 14-month low
Hiring remained a bright spot despite a gloomy demand outlook.
Myanmar’s manufacturing sector suffered a sharper deterioration in June, with steeper declines in both output and new orders pointing to a downturn that has now worsened for a second month running.
The headline S&P Global Myanmar Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.4 in June from 49.3 in May, signalling a solid downturn and the most pronounced since April 2025.
Goods producers recorded a third consecutive monthly fall in production, with the pace of decline sharp and the fastest in fourteen months. Firms often pointed to weaker new order intakes and material shortages as the cause.
New orders themselves fell at their steepest rate since April 2025, having now declined in each of the past two survey periods, with manufacturers reporting difficulty drumming up interest from clients.
Strongest hiring quarter since 2019
Weaker production needs prompted firms to scale back purchasing activity, with the pace of reduction solid and the fastest so far this year. Supply chains remained under pressure too, as vendor performance deteriorated sharply, with material shortages and logistical difficulties cited as the main causes behind longer lead times for inputs.
Falling purchases and delivery delays led firms to draw on existing stocks, which fell for a ninth straight month, and at the fastest rate in three months.
On costs, material shortages and higher transport expenses drove a further rapid rise in operating expenses, though the pace of inflation slowed for a second month running, easing to its weakest since September 2025. Manufacturers, in turn, raised their own charges only modestly, at the softest pace so far in 2026.
Despite the broader downturn, employment continued to rise, extending a trend seen since the start of the second quarter. Although hiring growth eased slightly from May, it rounded off the strongest quarter for job creation since 2019.
Looking ahead, however, firms turned broadly neutral on production prospects, with the year-ahead outlook index sitting only fractionally above the 50.0 no-change mark.
Maryam Baluch, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said Myanmar’s manufacturing data had again shown mixed results as the halfway point of the year approached, with downturns in output and new orders persisting and gathering pace amid bleak demand conditions, whilst firms continued to struggle sourcing inputs, contend with lengthening supplier lead times and lean more heavily on existing stocks.
She added that inflationary pressures continued to subside, with both costs and charges rising at relatively weak rates that could help stimulate demand, and that firms had kept taking on staff, though the outlook remained subdued, with businesses expecting production to broadly flatline over the year ahead.
