Manufacturing activity grows 0.9% in December, value drop on cheaper dairy
The value of total manufacturing sales declined 0.7 percent in the quarter to $23.13 billion in the quarter.
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New Zealand manufacturing activity expanded in the December quarter as the sector ramped production, although cheaper dairy prices led to a drop in value.
The volume of total manufacturing rose a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, its second quarter of expansion, and up 1.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand. That activity was underpinned by a 7.2 percent increase in petroleum and coal product manufacturing, a 1.9 percent gain in metal product manufacturing and a 0.9 percent lift in meat and dairy production.
While activity was on the up, the value of total manufacturing sales declined 0.7 percent in the quarter to $23.13 billion in the quarter, its third decline, and was down 3.5 percent from the same period a year earlier. The plunge in global dairy prices last year weighed on the value of sales, with meat and dairy product sales falling 2.7 percent in the quarter to $7.43 billion. That's the fourth quarterly decline in value across the meat and dairy sector, and the value of sales were down 14 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, outpacing the 1.4 percent annual decline in volumes.
The Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index for February is due this week after the January survey showed expanding activity slowed to a two-year low with new orders flat and a build-up in inventories.
Today's data showed the volume of finished stocks climbed 8.6 percent in the December quarter, and was down 6.4 percent from the same period a year earlier. The value of raw materials fell 6 percent to $3.66 billion in the quarter, while the value of finished goods rose 4.9 percent to $10.36 billion.
In unadjusted terms, the volume of manufacturing increased 1.5 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 from the same quarter a year earlier, while the vale of sales fell 3.2 percent to $25.58 billion.
(BusinessDesk)
Paul McBeth
Mon, 09 Mar 2015
Mon, 09 Mar 2015
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Manufacturing activity grows 0.9% in December, value drop on cheaper dairy
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