According to the latest PMI survey, the manufacturing downturn in Japan accelerated midway through the second quarter as the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly reduced workloads, limited production capacity and heavily disrupted supply chains. Spare capacity continued to rise substantially, although employment levels approached stabilisation following April's sharp reduction. The headline au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI)® – a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance – recorded below the neutral 50.0 mark yet again in May, falling ... (full story)