Most factories now open but production still subdued

Chinese factories were slow to reopen even after the extended Lunar New Year holiday came to end. One week after most of the country officially went back to work on 10th February, more than half of large industrial firms remained closed. That has now changed. Earlier this week, in China’s five largest provinces, over 80% of firms had reopened. But things are still far from back to normal. Even in Zhejiang, where almost all large factories have officially now re-opened, output reportedly remains around 25% below normal levels. Production will remain subdued for some time given that labour shortages may take weeks to resolve and domestic demand is unlikely to rebound fully until fear of infection fades.