India loses top manufacturing spot as PMI falls to nine-month low

India ceded its position as the world’s fastest-growing major manufacturing economy in November, as factory activity cooled more sharply than expected. The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 56.6 — a nine-month low — from 59.2 in October, marking one of the steepest month-on-month declines in the region. Although still firmly in expansion territory, the drop was enough for Thailand to overtake India at the top of the global PMI rankings.

Thailand’s PMI rose to 56.8, its strongest reading in more than two-and-a-half years, supported by improving business sentiment and expectations of better economic conditions in the months ahead. The November data also reflected a broader shift across global manufacturing: activity slowed across most Western economies and China, even as pockets of resilience emerged in the UK, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia.

Across ASEAN, manufacturing strengthened for a third straight month, with the bloc’s PMI rising to 53 — the third-fastest improvement in the survey’s history. Malaysia returned to expansion for the first time in over three years, while Vietnam and Indonesia posted solid gains, helped by improved supply conditions and optimism around future orders. The Philippines remained an outlier, slipping to its weakest level since 2021 as new orders contracted, though firms there reported a sharp rise in confidence tied to expected new projects and a broader customer base.