NZ manufacturing pulling ahead
New Zealand’s manufacturing sector is continuing to expand, while those in other countries are still falling, according
to the latest ANZ-Business NZ PMI.
The ANZ-Business NZ PMI surveys manufacturing in New Zealand in a format that allows comparisons with other countries.
The latest results, for the month of October, show New Zealand’s overall index expanding to 61.5, from 60.5 in
September.
(A PMI reading above 50 indicates manufacturing is expanding; below 50 indicates it is declining; the distance from 50
indicates the strength of expansion or decline.)
The latest US, European and Japanese indexes are all below 50, and all feature a fall in manufacturing activity. The
Australian index showed expansion with only minor change in index value from the September month.
The October ANZ-Business NZ PMI shows expansion in all industry sectors of New Zealand and in all five sub-indexes
(production, employment, new orders, stocks of finished products and deliveries of raw materials).
The employment sub-index revealed some concern about finding experienced staff, either to increase staff numbers or as
suitable replacements, in the busy pre-Christmas period. All regions surveyed (Northern, Central, Canterbury-Westland
and Otago-Southland) showed expansion of their manufacturing activity.
Full results are available on http:// http://www.anz.co.nz under ‘ANZ Spotlight/Economics’ and on http:// http://www.businessnz.org.nz under ‘PMI Reports’. For more information or assistance with data interpretation, contact Stephen Summers, ph 04
4966564, mailto: mailto:ssummers@businessnz.org.nz.
The PMI is sponsored by business banking specialist ANZ Banking Group (NZ) Ltd and draws on the depth of member
companies associated with Business NZ: EMA (Northern), EMA (Central), Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce,
Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association and Otago Southland Employers’ Association. The PMI is compatible with other
similar surveys in the US, EU, Asia and Australia, allowing for valid comparisons between manufacturing activity in New
Zealand and other countries.