Markit Economics.com
About Markit Economics
Markit Economics is one of the world's largest specialist providers of original economic research, and publishes a range of unique and highly regarded monthly and quarterly reports on business conditions. The world’s financial markets, central banks, government departments and corporate sector analysts are all extensive users of PMI data.
Our best-known product is the monthly Purchasing Managers' Index which has become established in all the major economies of the world as an authoritative and leading indicator of business conditions. Parallel with this are monthly and quarterly surveys of corporate profitablility, productivity, labour market trends, gross domestic product indicators and cyclical indicators of economic activity.
The recognised accuracy and reliability of these products reflect Markit Economics research and analytical skills, and illustrate its market-leading ability to produce high profile market-moving data.
Markit Economics is a division of the Information Sciences Ltd group of companies. Its sister company, the World Advertising Research Center (WARC), publishes over 100 business titles every year.
Markit Economics Data Accuracy
By the use of modern market research methods, PMI data can be produced much more quickly than that from other sources. The release of the Manufacturing PMI on the first business day of each month represents that first indication of the direction of the economy
PMI data are based on surveys of what is actually happening at an individual company level. They are not concerned with opinions or forecasts.
Because the same methodology is used internationally, data are directly comparable between countries and regions.
With almost 100 survey years of experience now clocked up, and with the indexes tested against reality every month by banks and economic analysts worldwide, the inescapable conclusion is that they work very well as advance indicators. Central bankers in the EU and US now depend on the data to make interest rate decisions.
The PMI data are a reliable predictor of official data. Click here to view international comparisons.
In many cases it is not possible to compare PMI data with official data to prove their accuracy. This is simply because no official data exist. Markit Economics has broken new ground in business survey coverage, most notably in the development of service sector surveys. The service sector is largely ignored by official statistical bodies in many important countries. However, the service sector represents a major proportion of total gross domestic product in almost all developed economies.
About PMI Data
Markit Economics is one of the world's largest producers of macro-economic data, providing Government, bankers (commercial, central and investment) and other financial corporations worldwide with high quality, timely and internationally comparable data.
Key features of PMI data series are:
- All series provide reliable factual data rather than opinion, expectations or confidence measurements.
- Data are produced very rapidly, and far faster than equivalent official data.
- In most cases, data are released on a monthly basis.
- Data cover almost all private sector economic activity in many countries (including the all-important service sectors).
- Data are not revised after publication.
- Data are produced using the same methodology in all countries where we operate, enabling accurate international comparisons.
Further details of the individual reports and surveys produced by Markit Economics can be found by clicking on the link to data coverage in the left hand menu and selecting your area of interest
At 53.6 in December, up from 53.2 in November, the Global Manufacturing PMI posted a reading above the no-change mark of 50.0 for the eighteenth successive month. However, for the final quarter of 2004, the PMI pointed (on average) to an easing in the rate of growth from the joint-survey record high seen in Q2 2004. The majority of the national manufacturing economies recorded slower growth in Q4 2004 than in the previous quarter.
Markit Economics PMI-based GDP indicators are released on the third working day of each month for all main European economies. They act as reliable indicators of final GDP figures from official sources. In the UK, for example, the GDP indicator anticipated recent upward revisions to early-2003 growth. Click here for further information.
The Markit Economics Productivity Indicators provide timely information on the current trends of private sector productivity in the UK, Germany, France and Italy. The indicators are derived from data collected from the panel of 1,300 UK companies and a further 5,200 Eurozone firms that participate in the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) surveys of business conditions across Europe.
Click here for the latest press release
The Japanese PMI fell for the fifth month in a row in December, dropping from 51.3 in November to an eighteen-month low of 50.6 after adjustment for seasonal factors. The PMI signalled only a marginal improvement in manufacturing sector business conditions after being dragged down by falling levels of output new business.
Output fell for the first time in nineteen months in December (albeit modestly) as manufacturers scaled back production in response to a second successive monthly drop in new orders. Lower levels of incoming new business principally reflected a fall in new export orders. Staffing levels, meanwhile, rose at a marginal rate which was less marked than that recorded in November.
To view our research note on the Japanese PMI please click one of the following links: Japanese version, English version.
The Nomura/JMMA Japanese PMI survey has accurately anticipated the buoyancy of recent industrial production and GDP data. Click here to view our Survey Review, comparing the PMI indices against official data.