Manufacturing Auckland north on a roll
The performance of manufacturers in Auckland and northwards is on a roll.
The latest ANZ-Business New Zealand PMI (Performance of Manufacturing Index) for September hit 61.8 for manufacturers in
the north, stronger than the rest of New Zealand except the far south, and well ahead of Australia's PMI of 56.4.
The PMI is co-ordinated at Business New Zealand from data fed from the regions. The Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) sends data from Taupo north. This is the second month of experience with the
leading edge indicator.
"Manufacturers from Auckland northwards are on a roll," said Bruce Goldsworthy, Manager of EMA's Manufacturing Services.
"But Waikato/ Bay of Plenty manufacturers are feeling the pinch as farmers stitch up their wallets - their PMI for
September was an even 50, down 6.9 points from August.
"Growth in the far south is running the fastest in New Zealand at 67.
"The data augurs extremely well for overall GDP growth, especially as Australian manufacturing also is still expanding,
though not quite as much as here.
"Nationally the PMI for September was 60.5, 2.3 points higher than in August.
(Above 50 indicates expansion; below 50 registers a decline, with the distance from 50 indicating the extent of
expansion or decline.)
"Better yet, new orders in the north are running hot at 68.9, while stocks of finished goods need replenishing (47.0).
"The opposite applies for Waikato/Bay of Plenty. New orders were down (46.7) while they were left holding stocks of
finished goods (63.3)."
(Full results are available on http://www.anz.co.nz under 'ANZ Spotlight/Economics' and on http://www.businessnz.org.nz under 'PMI Reports')