New Zealand’s manufacturing sector saw an improvement in expansion levels for the last month of 2021, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).
The seasonally adjusted PMI for December was 53.7 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 2.5 points higher than November.
BusinessNZ’s Director, Advocacy Catherine Beard said that 2021 was close to a year of two halves, with January-July showing generally strong expansion due to playing catch-up from the effects of the 2020 lockdowns. The remaining months of 2021 have been lacklustre, so it remains to be seen whether the sector experiences another period of catch-up heading into 2022.
“In terms of the main sub-indices, it was pleasing to see both Production (56.4) and New Orders (57.5) recording their highest values since July 2021. Employment (52.0) went back into expansion, as did Finished Stocks (52.8).”
BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel stated that “in the final quarter of 2021 the PMI averaged 53.2, indicating a return to positive manufacturing GDP growth after a sharp negative in the prior quarter.”