The New Zealand manufacturing sector continued to expand in May, although at a slower pace than in April, according to the BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).The seasonally adjusted PMI was 54.5 in May, down 4.1 points from April. A P
The New Zealand manufacturing sector continued to expand in May, although at a slower pace than in April, according to the BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).
The seasonally adjusted PMI was 54.5 in May, down 4.1 points from April. A PMI reading above 50 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding.
All the main indices for production, new orders, finished stocks and deliveries were in expansionary mode, apart from employment, which eased back into slight contraction with a 49.3 index.
"The expansion in the sector seems to be steady and solid and we are in a much better place than we were in one year ago," BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said.
BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said the road to recover was bumpy and the survey details were mixed at present.
Unadjusted results by region showed all were in expansion during May, apart from Northland on 48.3. Leading the regions was Otago/Southland on 58.5 followed by the Canterbury region on 57.6 and the Central region on 52.3.
