Mexico's manufacturing activity slipped further into contraction in January, marking a 22nd consecutive month of pullback, a survey showed today.
Mexico's IMEF manufacturing indicator slipped to 46.4 in January from 46.5 the prior month.
IMEF's purchasing managers index (PMI) sub-indexes for new orders and production rose in January, with new orders up 0.3 points to 44.5 and production rising 0.7 points to 45.8, showing a slowing pace of contraction.
The threshhold between expansion and contraction is 50.
The inventories sub-index fell 1 point to 45.3 in January, and the employment sub-index dropped 0.6 points to 44.3, showing deepening contractions.
The group added that both the weighted index series and trend-cycle sub-index moved deeper into contraction in January, suggesting that "after a brief period of stabilization, the pace of improvement has slowed again."
Victor Herrera, director of economic studies at IMEF, told Argus the trend-cycle indicator, used to identify market trends, was lower in January than at any period through either the Covid-19 pandemic or the 2017 economic slowdown, falling 0.1 points last month to 46.1, the lowest level since January 2009.
Non-manufacturing
IMEF's non-manufacturing PMI, which includes services and trade, marked a second month in contraction after two months in expansion territory, declining 0.4 points to 49.1 in January.
"Overall, the January data reflect a weak start to non-manufacturing activity, with mixed signals pointing to an uneven recovery and a lack of clear momentum at the beginning of the year," IMEF said
Within the non-manufacturing PMI, new orders fell 0.9 points to 47.9, while production slipped further into contraction, falling by 0.5 points to 48.2 in January. Employment declined 1 point, marking an 19th consecutive month of contraction.
The group also noted the stronger-than-expected 1.6pc growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2025, reported last week by statistics agency Inegi, which included a 2pc expansion in the industrial sector. But IMEF said that growth in the industrial sector was primarily driven by non-manufacturing areas of the industrial sector, including construction, utilities and mining.
Herrera added that GDP growth in the first quarter is likely to hold below 1pc if the current trend for both PMIs holds into February and March, with January data already "disappointing."
