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As US factories chug on, Asia lags behind

Washington/Bengaluru/Sydney - Manufacturing accounts for about 12% of America's economy

US manufacturing activity rose for a second straight month in April but at a slightly slower pace, as new orders and production fell.
The Institute for Supply Management said on Monday its index of national factory activity slipped to 50.8 last month from a reading of 51.8 in March. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector. A gauge of orders received by factories fell 2.5 points to 55.8 per cent.
Manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 per cent of the US economy, has been hurt by weak export growth stemming from a strong dollar and soft global demand.
Economic growth slowed to a 0.5 per cent annualised rate in the first quarter. Given a fairly robust labor market, which is expected to boost sluggish consumer spending, economists expect gross domestic product growth to rebound in the second quarter.
A second report from the Commerce Department showed construction spending rose to an 8-1/2-year high in March and the prior month's outlays were revised higher, pointing to sustained strength in the sector despite a sharp downturn in spending by energy firms.
Construction spending increased 0.3 per cent to the highest level since October 2007, following an upwardly revised one per cent jump in February, the Commerce Department said on Monday.
 
Sluggish tone going into Q2
Asian factories, meanwhile, barely grew in April and those in the eurozone did little better despite heavy discounting, setting a sluggish tone on Monday for the global economy in the second quarter.
Japanese manufacturing activity shrank last month at the fastest pace in more than three years as major earthquakes disrupted production, while the former bright spot of India sank to a four-month trough and growth in China was all but flat.
The eurozone reading edged up only marginally, painting a more subdued picture of an economy that grew an encouraging 0.6 per cent between January and March. So far, the massive ECB stimulus and weaker euro has yet to feed through to eurozone factories which operated only marginally faster in April.
Markit's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.7 from March's 51.6, a marginal improvement from an earlier flash estimate of 51.5.
In China, Sunday's official PMI reading was barely positive at 50.1, a cold shower for those hoping fresh fiscal and monetary stimulus from Beijing would enable a speedy pick-up.