Southeast Asia’s Factories Power Ahead as Japan, Korea Cool (1)

Asia’s manufacturing activity split across the region’s various hubs in August with Indonesia and Thailand powering ahead while South Korea and Japan cooled as tariffs weighed on output.

In Indonesia, output and new orders increased for the first time in five months and production in Thailand rose at the fastest pace in 13 months, according to S&P Global data published Monday. Overall activity in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan remained below the 50-mark that is the midpoint between expansion and contraction.

Asian producers have been whipsawed by US tariffs this year, and August marked the arrival of President Donald Trump’s ...