Vietnam's manufacturing PMI index recovers strongly in March

Producing wooden furniture for export to the European market. (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA)

Vietnam's manufacturing sector returned to growth in March 2025, as both output and total new orders rose again.

This is notable information in the announcement of the Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for March 2025 by S&P Global - a multinational corporation operating in the field of providing financial information and data.

Specifically, in March 2025, the Vietnam manufacturing PMI index recorded a level above 50 points for the first time in 4 months, signaling an improvement in business conditions at the end of the first quarter of 2025.

The PMI rose to 50.5 from 49.2 in February, indicating a strengthening of the manufacturing sector, according to S&P Global. Manufacturing output rose for the first time in three months and the largest increase since August 2024.

The increase in output partly reflected an improvement in the availability of goods, but also reflected a return to growth in new orders after two months of decline, the S&P Global survey showed.

New orders rose amid signs of improving customer demand, but the increase was only modest amid continued weakness in international demand.

In fact, new export orders fell sharply and at the fastest pace since July 2023. New orders from abroad have now fallen for five consecutive months.

Some respondents reported a decline in orders from China. While output and total new orders rebounded, companies remained less confident about the outlook for output this year.

Although business sentiment remained upbeat amid rising new orders and hopes of a stabilising demand situation, the level of optimism remained below the index's historical average.

Manufacturers were cautious in hiring and purchasing activity in March. The number of employees fell for the sixth consecutive month, blamed on a recent slump in demand and staff turnover. However, the rate of decline was the smallest since early 2025.

Meanwhile, purchasing activity fell for the first time in four months as firms said that a recent period of input purchases had helped to build up inventories to support production needs.

As a result, inventories of purchases fell, although the decline was the least significant since August 2024. Stocks of finished goods also fell, with some reports suggesting that companies were reluctant to build up too much inventory.

According to Andrew Harker, Chief Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, Vietnam’s manufacturing sector started to perform more strongly in March, with output and new orders rising for the first time since early 2025. Hopefully, companies will be able to continue to do better in the coming months based on these improvements.

However, the expert also said that manufacturers are still quite cautious, thus hesitant to hire more staff or buy more inputs. This may reflect an uncertain international environment, with new export orders falling sharply in March.

In fact, global trade is expected to experience unpredictable fluctuations due to tensions related to recent US tariff policies.

Vietnam has a significant trade surplus with the US, so it is more or less affected. In that context, businesses need to proactively develop response plans and diversify markets to adapt to these fluctuations.../.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/chi-so-pmi-nganh-san-xuat-viet-nam-phuc-hoi-manh-trong-thang-3-3351141.html