SpaceKnow China Satellite Manufacturing Index

The SpaceKnow China Satellite Manufacturing Index (CN SMI) is an economic activity index derived from optical satellite imagery, covering more than 6,000 industrial zones across China.^[1] SpaceKnow applies AI-driven change-detection algorithms with human-in-the-loop quality control to score activity levels at each facility, drawing on a corpus of 2.2 billion processed satellite images.^[2] Separate scoring algorithms are applied per industry category, with sub-indices for metals and cement production, distribution centres, and container ports.

The resulting index is expressed as a PMI-style score with 50 as the neutral line and published three times per week on the Bloomberg Terminal.^[1] An independent cross-validation against China's official manufacturing PMI showed close alignment: SpaceKnow reported 51.7 in March 2018 against the official PMI reading of 51.5.^[2]

SpaceKnow's confirmed company-level data partners include ESA (Copernicus), Planet, ICEYE, Satellogic, and Airbus OneAtlas (2017 partnership); the specific satellite platforms used for the CN SMI are not publicly named.^[3] Publication through at least 2020-2021 is documented; the current status of the index as of 2026 is unknown.^[1]