New Zealand’s manufacturing industry has seen yet another expansion for the month of August, according to the BusinessNZ Performance Manufacturing Index.
The sector’s seasonally adjusted PMI for August stood at 54.9, which was 1.4 points higher than July and marks the highest level of activity since July 2021.
A PMI reading above 50 points indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding, while 50 points signify a decline.
Catherine Beard, director of advocacy for BusinessNZ, said the August result represented the second consecutive month being above the long-term average of 53.1 for the survey.
Beard detailed that the increase was influenced by the rate of new orders, which stood at 59.2— the index’s highest level since July 2021. Production also reached its highest point for 2022 with 54.6, according to the BusinessNZ director.
“Overall, it was the first time all five sub-index values were in expansion since May,” Beard said.
However, manufacturers have continued to have a more negative mindset despite the overall expansion levels of the sector. This comes as staff retention and shortages continue to dominate comments made by manufacturers, BusinessNZ said in a statement.
“Manufacturing production, in general, was holding its own in Q2, rather than drooping, was portrayed in the PMI readings for April May and June. And in July and August the PMI has moved on to suggest an improving tone around underlying growth,” said Craig Ebert, senior economist at BNZ.
