A cargo ship is parked at a berth loading and unloading containers at the Lianyungang Port Container Terminal in Jiangsu Province, China on March 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images<\/p>\n
China’s factory activity faltered in February as manufacturers paused production and cargo shipment to celebrate an extended holiday, an official survey showed on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
The official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49 in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics<\/a>, missing economists’ forecast for 49.1. A reading below 50 indicates contraction, while levels above that threshold signal expansion. <\/p>\n That marks a second straight month of contraction, with PMI reading matching October and April 2025 levels. The official PMI had come in at 49.3 in January following a brief rebound in December. <\/p>\n The composite PMI, a broader measure that tracks activity across manufacturing and services, dropped to 49.5 from 49.8 in January, the official data showed. <\/p>\n The non-manufacturing PMI, which covers services and construction, edged 0.1 percentage point to 49.5. <\/p>\n Huo Lihui, chief NBS statistician, attributed the decline to holiday-induced slump in factories’ operation and production during the Lunar New Year holiday, as well as distortion effects from the festival timing. <\/p>\n This year’s holiday ran from Feb.15 to Feb. 23 \u2014 the longest on record \u2014 compared with eight days spanning late January to early February last year. <\/p>\n A private survey, however, pointed to a sharp rebound in manufacturing activity last month. The RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI, conducted by S&P Global, surged to 52.1 in February, the strongest level since December 2020. <\/p>\n That activity was boosted by strong new export orders, according to the release<\/a> Wednesday. “International demand picked up notably, with new export orders rising at the most pronounced pace since September 2020.” <\/p>\n The private survey samples a relatively smaller group of export-oriented manufacturers and is conducted mid-month while the official poll covers a larger sample of over 3,000 companies and is compiled at month-end, according to Goldman Sachs. <\/p>\n