Media release
14 September 2006
EMBARGO: 15 September 2006
Little change in manufacturing activity
There was a slight drop in manufacturing activity in August, although the last seven months overall show steady results,
according to the Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).
August's seasonally adjusted PMI, at 53.0 was down 0.9 points on July, but fairly consistent with results over the last
quarter.
A PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining.
PMI values for August in 2002-2005 were 57.4, 51.1, 58.0 and 52.3 respectively.
Activity during August 2006 was positive for all regions, especially in the South Island. Otago/Southland (58.2) again
had the highest level of activity, although its value was lower than the previous month for the first time in six
months. The Northern, Central and Canterbury/Westland regions all experienced moderate expansion (52.5, 53.5 and 55.7
respectively).
All five seasonally adjusted main diffusion indexes recorded expansion during August. New orders (57.5) again led the
way, followed by production (53.3). Employment (49.2) showed a decline for the third consecutive month, while finished
stocks (50.9) and deliveries (51.3) showed slight expansion.
Overall, the 2006 August value continues a steady period of results, with strength in new orders, modest production
levels and weak employment activity. The ratio of negative (55.8%) to positive (44.2%) comments was slightly more
towards negative than in July, and mainly concerned the recent pick up in the NZ$, a general slowdown in the economy and
the winter weather.
--
See...
Seasonally Adjusted Time Series - Business NZ PMI
/ PMI / PRODUCTION / EMPLOYMENT / NEW ORDERS / FINISHED STOCKS / DELIVERIES
Aug-02 / 57.4 / 59.6 / 54.1 / 59.9 / 52.3 / 58.3
Sep-02 / 57.2 / 58.6 / 51.9 / 61.0 / 52.6 / 58.8
Oct-02 / 59.1 / 61.9 / 54.4 / 63.2 / 52.9 / 58.1
Nov-02 / 57.4 / 60.2 / 52.8 / 60.8 / 51.8 / 57.3
Dec-02 / 56.7 / 59.2 / 51.8 / 60.9 / 52.4 / 55.9
Jan-03 / 56.2 / 59.1 / 52.5 / 55.7 / 53.5 / 60.0
Feb-03 / 54.2 / 55.1 / 56.3 / 53.1 / 55.1 / 52.3
Mar-03 / 52.9 / 52.1 / 51.2 / 53.6 / 53.7 / 51.3
Apr-03 / 53.4 / 54.2 / 49.8 / 55.2 / 53.2 / 52.6
May-03 / 52.7 / 51.9 / 50.9 / 53.2 / 53.5 / 51.3
Jun-03 / 52.4 / 50.8 / 50.0 / 54.5 / 51.7 / 52.6
Jul-03 / 53.0 / 51.9 / 51.6 / 54.3 / 53.0 / 53.7
Aug-03 / 51.1 / 48.9 / 51.2 / 54.8 / 50.6 / 49.5
Sep-03 / 56.3 / 57.8 / 52.7 / 58.7 / 54.1 / 56.6
Oct-03 / 62.2 / 68.4 / 53.1 / 68.2 / 54.2 / 58.6
Nov-03 / 56.8 / 57.3 / 56.2 / 60.5 / 46.9 / 57.6
Dec-03 / 54.3 / 55.1 / 50.2 / 56.5 / 51.6 / 57.6
Jan-04 / 56.0 / 57.5 / 50.5 / 59.1 / 52.5 / 57.6
Feb-04 / 56.4 / 56.8 / 50.2 / 60.9 / 53.8 / 57.6
Mar-04 / 59.1 / 60.9 / 51.1 / 63.4 / 52.9 / 59.5
Apr-04 / 58.9 / 60.9 / 50.9 / 64.1 / 51.6 / 59.7
May-04 / 57.2 / 57.7 / 52.5 / 61.1 / 51.6 / 58.1
Jun-04 / 61.4 / 63.0 / 53.4 / 68.5 / 52.9 / 58.8
Jul-04 / 58.9 / 62.0 / 52.2 / 63.6 / 53.9 / 56.1
Aug-04 / 58.0 / 59.8 / 50.6 / 62.3 / 55.3 / 59.9
Sep-04 / 53.5 / 53.9 / 52.2 / 55.5 / 52.7 / 53.0
Oct-04 / 54.3 / 56.4 / 50.6 / 57.8 / 52.0 / 51.8
Nov-04 / 58.3 / 59.9 / 53.2 / 61.2 / 55.1 / 60.6
Dec-04 / 58.4 / 62.4 / 55.3 / 60.8 / 54.3 / 55.8
Jan-05 / 57.2 / 55.9 / 55.6 / 61.2 / 53.8 / 56.2
Feb-05 / 55.6 / 56.5 / 53.1 / 58.7 / 49.7 / 55.7
Mar-05 / 51.7 / 52.8 / 48.5 / 51.0 / 52.2 / 52.2
Apr-05 / 52.0 / 52.3 / 51.4 / 52.4 / 51.3 / 51.1
May-05 / 52.4 / 51.8 / 49.3 / 53.6 / 51.7 / 51.5
Jun-05 / 51.4 / 50.9 / 49.3 / 51.7 / 52.9 / 51.3
Jul-05 / 49.6 / 48.3 / 48.9 / 50.6 / 48.3 / 51.0
Aug-05 / 52.3 / 53.8 / 50.9 / 52.1 / 51.3 / 54.6
Sep-05 / 49.0 / 48.7 / 48.0 / 50.4 / 48.9 / 49.6
Oct-05 / 47.2 / 46.3 / 46.4 / 48.2 / 49.6 / 47.1
Nov-05 / 44.7 / 44.3 / 46.3 / 43.8 / 49.5 / 43.7
Dec-05 / 47.9 / 47.3 / 47.2 / 47.3 / 54.2 / 48.6
Jan-06 / 48.7 / 48.6 / 46.7 / 50.7 / 48.3 / 48.6
Feb-06 / 51.3 / 52.2 / 48.9 / 53.2 / 48.3 / 51.7
Mar-06 / 53.6 / 54.2 / 50.3 / 54.8 / 49.6 / 54.2
Apr-06 / 52.7 / 51.9 / 51.8 / 53.4 / 52.1 / 53.5
May-06 / 58.5 / 59.1 / 53.6 / 61.5 / 55.8 / 55.6
Jun-06 / 52.3 / 53.1 / 45.5 / 55.2 / 51.0 / 53.0
Jul-06 / 53.9 / 54.8 / 49.6 / 56.4 / 52.5 / 53.9
Aug-06 / 53.0 / 53.3 / 49.2 / 57.5 / 50.9 / 51.3
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
Aug-06 / 53.7 / 53.3 / 48.7 / 58.8 / 51.9 / 52.1 / 52.5 / 53.5 / 55.7 / 58.2
ENDS