Manufacturing companies in the country saw their operations improve last month as the accelerated growth in new orders encouraged businesses to increase production, an IHS Markit/Nikkei survey found.

Results of the survey released on Monday showed that the seasonally adjusted manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 51.2 in May from 50.9 in April, signaling a “modest, but stronger, improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector.”