Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of its 63^rd round of the quarterly Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS) conducted during Q3:2023-24 covering 803 manufacturing companies. The survey[1] provides a snapshot of demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector during July-September 2023.

Highlights:

• At the aggregate level, the capacity utilisation (CU) in the manufacturing sector increased to 74.0 per cent in Q2:2023-24 from 73.6 per cent in the previous quarter (Chart 1 and Table 1). The seasonally adjusted CU, however, declined to 74.5 per cent in Q2:2023-24 from its level of 75.4 per cent in the previous quarter.

• Manufacturers reported higher new orders in Q2:2023-24 as compared to the previous quarter as well as the corresponding quarter a year ago (Chart 2 and Table 2A).

• The raw material inventory (RMI) to sales ratio increased marginally in Q2:2023-24 from its level in the previous quarter while the finished goods inventory (FGI) to sales ratio remained stable (Chart 3 and Table 3A).

Note-Please see the excel file for time series data.

ANNEX 1: Data Tables

*: Index of Industrial Production (Base: 2011-12)

#: Growth rates are calculated using three rounds common set of companies, namely, companies responded in the current quarter, one quarter ago and the same quarter a year ago.

 **: Not seasonally adjusted.

##: Weighted average of industry level ratios using GVA as weights

Note: 1. The computations of order book growths and inventory to sales ratios are based on methodology given in the RBI press release dated October 8, 2021 (link: https://rbi.org.in/web/rbi/-/publications/obicus-survey-on-the-manufacturing-sector-for-q1-2021-22-20650) and not on the basis of averages given in the above tables.

2. The estimates of inventory of raw materials (including stores and spares, loose tools and stock-in-trade) are arrived at by netting out finished goods inventory and work-in-progress inventory from total inventory. The survey has also started collecting direct data on raw material inventory, which will be included in the regular survey results once the reporting coverage of the new item is satisfactory.