Manufacturing activity slips slightly

Manufacturing activity slipped by a slim margin in November, with a business survey pointing to a slowdown.

In November the Performance of Manufacturing index edged a touch below the 50 break-even mark at 48.8. The index was at 50.3, in October.

“These results are not significantly different. In fact, the headline result has been through one of its most stable six-month periods in the over 10-year history of the survey, “ Business NZ said.

Manufacturing exports face even stronger headwinds today, with the exchange rate rising well above US84c.
BusinessNZ’s executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that the November result continued a pattern seen here and overseas for the manufacturing sector.

“The last six months have seen little to write home about in terms of New Zealand manufacturing,” she said.

Sluggish production and new orders meant the overall result had little chance to show stronger activity levels, while employment in the sector remains in contraction.

However, New Zealand was no different from most other countries. The JPMorgan Global PMI remained in decline, and Australia was faring worse than us with overall activity down to 43.6.

- © Fairfax NZ News