Rail volumes and Manufacturing Index show China’s economy is expanding

1. Business Insider – A Great Graphic comes from Also Sprach Analyst. The first chart shows various modes of goods transportation and China’s GDP. The best fit is with freight traffic.

The second chart focuses on the simply the rail cargo volume. The volume of China’s rail freight in October was 3.2% lower on a year-over-year basis (was -5.4% in September), but on a month-over-month basis increased by 5.8%.

The key take away is that the rail traffic lends credence to the recent series of data that suggest the world’s second largest economy is stabilized after slowing for the past seven quarter. Globally speaking this is a small offset to the prospects of weaker US, Europe and Japanese growth profiles.

2. WSJ Chinarealtime – Two measures of Chinese manufacturing activity hit new highs in November, the latest sign that China’s economy could be recovering after several months of slowing growth. The official Purchasing Managers Index, rose to 50.6, a seven-month high, while the HSBC Purchasing Managers Index – more heavily weighted in favor of smaller, private sector companies – hit 50.5, the first time it has topped 50 in 13 months. (A reading above 50 indicates expansion.)

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