Media release
10 August 2006
EMBARGO: 11 August 2006
Manufacturing activity steady
Manufacturing activity increased slightly during July, according to the Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index
(PMI).
July’s seasonally adjusted PMI, at 53.9, was up 1.9 points on June, and apart from the spike in activity during May, was
consistent with activity levels of the last six months.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50 that it is declining.
PMI values for July in 2003, 2004 and 2005 were 53.0, 61.1 and 49.6 respectively.
Activity by region was mixed during July. Otago/Southland (61.6) had its fifth consecutive monthly increase in activity,
and showed the highest level of expansion of all regions. The Northern region (54.7) improved on its June level of
expansion, while the Central (48.4) and Canterbury/Westland (48.8) regions experienced a decline.
Four of the five seasonally adjusted main diffusion indexes again recorded expansion during July. New orders (56.4)
continued to record the highest value for the month, followed by production (55.1). Employment (49.8) again showed a
decline, albeit close to the ‘no change’ threshold, an improvement on the lowest ever value recorded for this index
during June.
Positive comments (48.9%) from respondents were on a par with negative ones (51.1%). A winter seasonal dip in activity
played a part in some of the negative comments. Positive comments were linked with the continued trend downwards of the
New Zealand dollar, which has brought a significant lift in orders, improving competitiveness and return on sales.
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Seasonally Adjusted Time Series - Business NZ PMI
/ PMI / PRODUCTION / EMPLOYMENT / NEW ORDERS / FINISHED STOCKS / DELIVERIES
Aug-02 / 57.1 / 58.6 / 53.9 / 60.0 / 51.9 / 56.8
Sep-02 / 57.4 / 58.6 / 51.9 / 61.0 / 52.7 / 58.6
Oct-02 / 59.3 / 61.9 / 54.4 / 63.2 / 53.0 / 58.1
Nov-02 / 57.5 / 60.3 / 52.8 / 60.7 / 51.8 / 57.4
Dec-02 / 56.8 / 59.3 / 51.8 / 60.9 / 52.4 / 56.0
Jan-03 / 56.2 / 59.3 / 52.4 / 55.7 / 53.5 / 60.3
Feb-03 / 54.3 / 55.3 / 56.3 / 53.1 / 55.1 / 52.5
Mar-03 / 52.9 / 52.2 / 51.2 / 53.6 / 53.7 / 51.4
Apr-03 / 53.4 / 54.3 / 49.9 / 55.3 / 53.2 / 52.8
May-03 / 52.7 / 51.8 / 50.8 / 53.0 / 53.5 / 51.5
Jun-03 / 52.1 / 51.0 / 50.1 / 54.6 / 51.8 / 52.9
Jul-03 / 53.0 / 52.2 / 51.8 / 54.3 / 53.1 / 54.2
Aug-03 / 50.8 / 47.9 / 51.0 / 54.9 / 50.2 / 48.0
Sep-03 / 56.5 / 57.8 / 52.7 / 58.7 / 54.2 / 56.4
Oct-03 / 62.4 / 68.4 / 53.1 / 68.2 / 54.3 / 58.6
Nov-03 / 56.9 / 57.4 / 56.2 / 60.4 / 46.9 / 57.7
Dec-03 / 54.4 / 55.2 / 50.2 / 56.5 / 51.6 / 57.7
Jan-04 / 56.0 / 57.7 / 50.4 / 59.1 / 52.5 / 57.9
Feb-04 / 56.5 / 57.0 / 50.2 / 60.9 / 53.8 / 57.8
Mar-04 / 59.1 / 61.0 / 51.1 / 63.4 / 52.9 / 59.6
Apr-04 / 58.9 / 61.0 / 51.0 / 64.2 / 51.6 / 59.9
May-04 / 57.2 / 57.6 / 52.4 / 60.9 / 51.6 / 58.3
Jun-04 / 61.1 / 63.2 / 53.5 / 68.6 / 53.0 / 59.1
Jul-04 / 58.9 / 62.3 / 52.4 / 63.6 / 54.0 / 56.6
Aug-04 / 57.7 / 58.8 / 50.4 / 62.4 / 54.9 / 58.4
Sep-04 / 53.7 / 53.9 / 52.2 / 55.5 / 52.8 / 52.8
Oct-04 / 54.5 / 56.4 / 50.6 / 57.8 / 52.1 / 51.8
Nov-04 / 58.4 / 60.0 / 53.2 / 61.1 / 55.1 / 60.7
Dec-04 / 58.5 / 62.5 / 55.3 / 60.8 / 54.3 / 55.9
Jan-05 / 57.2 / 56.1 / 55.5 / 61.2 / 53.8 / 56.5
Feb-05 / 55.7 / 56.7 / 53.1 / 58.7 / 49.7 / 55.9
Mar-05 / 51.7 / 52.9 / 48.5 / 51.0 / 52.2 / 52.3
Apr-05 / 52.0 / 52.4 / 51.5 / 52.5 / 51.3 / 51.3
May-05 / 52.4 / 51.7 / 49.2 / 53.4 / 51.7 / 51.7
Jun-05 / 51.1 / 51.1 / 49.4 / 51.8 / 53.0 / 51.6
Jul-05 / 49.6 / 48.6 / 49.1 / 50.6 / 48.4 / 51.5
Aug-05 / 52.0 / 52.8 / 50.7 / 52.2 / 50.9 / 53.1
Sep-05 / 49.2 / 48.7 / 48.0 / 50.4 / 49.0 / 49.4
Oct-05 / 47.4 / 46.3 / 46.4 / 48.2 / 49.7 / 47.1
Nov-05 / 44.8 / 44.4 / 46.3 / 43.7 / 49.5 / 43.8
Dec-05 / 48.0 / 47.4 / 47.2 / 47.3 / 54.2 / 48.7
Jan-06 / 48.7 / 48.7 / 46.6 / 50.7 / 48.3 / 48.9
Feb-06 / 51.3 / 52.3 / 49.0 / 53.3 / 48.3 / 51.9
Mar-06 / 53.6 / 54.3 / 50.3 / 54.8 / 49.6 / 54.3
Apr-06 / 52.7 / 52.0 / 51.9 / 53.5 / 52.2 / 53.6
May-06 / 58.5 / 59.0 / 53.5 / 61.3 / 55.8 / 55.8
Jun-06 / 52.0 / 53.3 / 45.6 / 55.3 / 51.2 / 53.3
Jul-06 / 53.9 / 55.1 / 49.8 / 56.4 / 52.6 / 54.4
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Unadjusted Time Series - Business NZ PMI
/ PMI / Production / Employment / New_Orders / Finished_Stocks / Deliveries / Northern / Central / Canterbury / Otago
Aug-02 / 58.2 / 59.6 / 53.7 / 61.2 / 53.3 / 59.1 / 57.7 / 56.6 / 62.0 / 58.9
Sep-02 / 60.5 / 63.8 / 52.7 / 64.1 / 56.0 / 60.9 / 58.1 / 60.3 / 63.6 / 67.0
Oct-02 / 61.5 / 64.6 / 55.6 / 65.5 / 54.8 / 60.8 / 59.6 / 62.3 / 65.3 / 62.5
Nov-02 / 65.0 / 69.8 / 57.8 / 69.4 / 56.0 / 63.6 / 65.4 / 67.1 / 58.8 / 65.2
Dec-02 / 56.4 / 58.1 / 50.8 / 61.7 / 49.0 / 55.6 / 54.2 / 54.7 / 58.8 / 71.5
Jan-03 / 51.6 / 53.0 / 49.3 / 50.7 / 51.2 / 54.7 / 45.1 / 58.8 / 48.5 / 59.9
Feb-03 / 53.0 / 55.1 / 53.8 / 51.3 / 54.0 / 51.3 / 51.2 / 54.2 / 50.5 / 60.4
Mar-03 / 52.7 / 52.4 / 51.7 / 54.5 / 51.7 / 51.4 / 48.1 / 55.2 / 63.1 / 48.0
Apr-03 / 49.3 / 48.0 / 49.1 / 50.7 / 50.0 / 48.7 / 48.7 / 49.7 / 53.5 / 43.9
May-03 / 49.6 / 49.8 / 48.8 / 50.3 / 50.3 / 49.0 / 47.9 / 50.1 / 53.4 / 51.8
Jun-03 / 53.2 / 51.4 / 52.6 / 53.7 / 54.6 / 55.2 / 50.2 / 52.3 / 56.4 / 61.7
Jul-03 / 51.6 / 49.2 / 51.5 / 52.3 / 54.9 / 52.1 / 51.5 / 51.5 / 49.5 / 55.0
Aug-03 / 51.9 / 48.9 / 50.8 / 56.1 / 51.6 / 50.3 / 52.2 / 48.6 / 60.2 / 53.4
Sep-03 / 59.6 / 63.0 / 53.5 / 61.8 / 57.5 / 58.7 / 62.1 / 57.0 / 65.2 / 52.1
Oct-03 / 64.6 / 71.1 / 54.3 / 70.5 / 56.1 / 61.3 / 64.2 / 64.2 / 75.0 / 59.7
Nov-03 / 64.4 / 66.9 / 61.2 / 69.1 / 51.1 / 63.9 / 61.3 / 63.2 / 69.1 / 73.4
Dec-03 / 54.0 / 54.0 / 49.2 / 57.3 / 48.2 / 57.3 / 51.1 / 48.7 / 65.3 / 54.5
Jan-04 / 51.4 / 51.4 / 47.3 / 54.1 / 50.2 / 52.3 / 50.0 / 51.0 / 54.9 / 48.7
Feb-04 / 55.2 / 56.8 / 47.7 / 59.1 / 52.7 / 56.6 / 54.1 / 58.1 / 57.1 / 47.1
Mar-04 / 58.9 / 61.2 / 51.6 / 64.3 / 50.9 / 59.6 / 58.3 / 60.0 / 64.6 / 49.1
Apr-04 / 54.8 / 54.7 / 50.2 / 59.6 / 48.4 / 55.8 / 53.7 / 54.4 / 59.8 / 49.6
May-04 / 54.1 / 55.6 / 50.4 / 58.2 / 48.4 / 55.8 / 55.7 / 52.0 / 57.3 / 51.3
Jun-04 / 62.2 / 63.6 / 56.0 / 67.7 / 55.8 / 61.4 / 63.6 / 60.8 / 62.4 / 56.1
Jul-04 / 57.5 / 59.3 / 52.1 / 61.6 / 55.8 / 54.5 / 60.6 / 55.2 / 60.9 / 45.8
Aug-04 / 58.8 / 59.8 / 50.2 / 63.6 / 56.3 / 60.7 / 61.1 / 55.9 / 59.6 / 57.5
Sep-04 / 56.8 / 59.1 / 53.0 / 58.6 / 56.1 / 55.1 / 58.5 / 54.3 / 54.9 / 62.3
Oct-04 / 56.7 / 59.1 / 51.8 / 60.1 / 53.9 / 54.5 / 56.8 / 57.7 / 56.0 / 54.8
Nov-04 / 65.9 / 69.5 / 58.2 / 69.8 / 59.3 / 66.9 / 68.0 / 62.2 / 61.0 / 67.9
Dec-04 / 58.1 / 61.3 / 54.3 / 61.6 / 50.9 / 55.5 / 58.8 / 56.8 / 56.5 / 58.2
Jan-05 / 52.6 / 49.8 / 52.4 / 56.2 / 51.5 / 50.9 / 53.8 / 51.2 / 49.4 / 54.9
Feb-05 / 54.4 / 56.5 / 50.6 / 56.9 / 48.6 / 54.7 / 53.8 / 51.0 / 63.1 / 51.0
Mar-05 / 51.5 / 53.1 / 49.0 / 51.9 / 50.2 / 52.3 / 52.6 / 47.8 / 50.6 / 54.3
Apr-05 / 47.9 / 46.1 / 50.7 / 47.9 / 48.1 / 47.2 / 46.6 / 45.4 / 53.2 / 51.3
May-05 / 49.3 / 49.7 / 47.2 / 50.7 / 48.5 / 49.2 / 49.4 / 50.1 / 48.9 / 46.8
Jun-05 / 52.2 / 51.5 / 51.9 / 50.9 / 55.8 / 53.9 / 50.5 / 53.0 / 54.4 / 54.7
Jul-05 / 48.2 / 45.6 / 48.8 / 48.6 / 50.2 / 49.4 / 44.8 / 50.6 / 54.6 / 50.7
Aug-05 / 53.1 / 53.8 / 50.5 / 53.4 / 52.3 / 55.4 / 54.0 / 51.3 / 47.6 / 60.9
Sep-05 / 52.3 / 53.9 / 48.8 / 53.5 / 52.3 / 51.7 / 52.1 / 53.1 / 46.7 / 59.8
Oct-05 / 49.6 / 49.0 / 47.6 / 50.5 / 51.5 / 49.8 / 48.4 / 48.8 / 52.7 / 54.9
Nov-05 / 52.3 / 53.9 / 51.3 / 52.4 / 53.7 / 50.0 / 50.7 / 57.7 / 54.3 / 46.5
Dec-05 / 47.6 / 46.2 / 46.2 / 48.1 / 50.8 / 48.3 / 47.3 / 45.1 / 54.6 / 44.5
Jan-06 / 44.1 / 42.5 / 43.5 / 45.7 / 45.9 / 43.3 / 42.3 / 44.8 / 49.4 / 42.8
Feb-06 / 50.1 / 52.1 / 46.4 / 51.4 / 47.1 / 50.7 / 46.8 / 49.1 / 59.4 / 48.9
Mar-06 / 53.4 / 54.5 / 50.8 / 55.7 / 47.6 / 54.3 / 53.8 / 50.8 / 54.2 / 55.8
Apr-06 / 48.6 / 45.7 / 51.1 / 48.9 / 48.9 / 49.6 / 46.9 / 50.7 / 44.0 / 56.3
May-06 / 55.4 / 57.0 / 51.5 / 58.6 / 52.6 / 53.3 / 55.1 / 52.5 / 59.1 / 58.5
Jun-06 / 53.1 / 53.7 / 48.1 / 54.4 / 54.0 / 55.6 / 53.2 / 53.6 / 46.7 / 60.4
Jul-06 / 52.5 / 52.1 / 49.5 / 54.4 / 54.4 / 52.3 / 54.7 / 48.4 / 48.8 / 61.6
ENDS