EMBARGO: 15 December 2006
Manufacturing in the lower half of the North Island and in the Nelson/Tasman region showed healthy growth during
November. Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) results released today showed an overall gain of 61.5 for
the Central region.
A PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining.
"This is the best result for the last couple of years," Paul Winter of EMA Central said today, "and it's much better
than at the same time last year."
Central region results showed particularly strong growth in production (66.3), deliveries (61.2) and new orders (62.2).
"The expansion in deliveries and new orders is encouraging," Paul Winter says. "This suggests the growth during November
gave manufacturers a good platform moving forward into December. "
On the negative side, the main challenge highlighted in the November survey remains the high exchange rate, which makes
it harder for exporters to compete internationally.
The EMA Central results include manufacturers from Nelson, Manawatu, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and Wellington
across the full range of manufacturing types. Companies surveyed range in size from under ten employees to those
employing several hundred people.
ENDS