New Zealand’s manufacturing sector remained in a steady state of expansion, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).
The seasonally adjusted PMI for August was 55.1 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 0.4 points lower than July, but still represented healthy growth for manufacturing in New Zealand. The sector remains solidly in expansion in almost all months since October 2012.
BusinessNZ’s executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that the five sub-indexes showed varied movements in activity since June.
“Employment (47.4) experienced the biggest hit after four consecutive increases in expansion. Production (55.7) slipped slightly, although new orders (59.1) remained strong”.
“The slight dip in overall expansion was mirrored by the proportion of positive comments decreasing to 58.4% for August, compared with 62.8% in June to 63.8% in July. A number of negative comments were centered on this time of year being typically quiet, while positive comments tended to focus on ongoing orders, as well as preparation for the summer season”.
BNZ Senior Economist, Craig Ebert, said “although the seasonally adjusted August result eased slightly to 55.1, this was a trivial move statistically, leaving the PMI happily north of its long-term average of 53.1”.
