To that end, IHS Markit also reports today what may seem a stunning and, as always, unexpected reversal taking place in the goods economy worldwide. The manufacturing sector seems to have found its danger point, emphatically coloring Maersk’s concurrent downgrade.
Markit’s Japan flash PMI came in at 48.5 for February 2019, down from 50.3 in January. It was the lowest in 32 months. Europe’s was 49.2, a 69-month low, clearly being dragged under by Germany’s still accelerating weakness. That specific country’s manufacturing index plunged to 47.6 in February, a level not seen in more than six years. It was 49.7 last month. Even the US figure was troubling, at 53.7 the lowest in 17 months and down from 54.9 in January. No one is being spared; some are further along than others.
