New Zealand’s manufacturing sector continued to show expansion for a third consecutive month, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).
The seasonally adjusted PMI for March was 53.2 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was down from 54.1 in February, although still above the average of 52.5 for the survey since the survey began.
BusinessNZ’s Director, Advocacy Catherine Beard said that the March result represented a full quarter of expansion for a sector that has experienced tough times over 2023 and 2024.
“The sub-index values were mostly in expansion during March. The key sub-index result for Production (54.2) was at its highest result since December 2021, although New Orders (49.6) returned to slight contraction. Employment (54.7) continued to lift with expansion levels at its highest since July 2021, while Finished Stocks (56.3) was at its highest since December 2021″.
The proportion of negative comments from respondents stood at 57.5% in March, compared with 59.5% in February and 57.7% in January. Negative comments during March continued to see a number of manufacturers face a tough economic environment, with persistent weak demand, fewer new orders, and ongoing uncertainty across domestic and export markets.
BNZ’s Senior Economist Doug Steel said that “the PMI supports the notion that manufacturing GDP has increased in early 2025. The open question is what lies ahead given recent extreme volatility on global markets following rapidly evolving US-driven trade policy changes. Risks to the global and NZ growth outlook are downward”.
