Steady and Stable Path – PMI 17 Nov 2017 57.2October-0.4Monthly Changeexpandingslower rate Catherine Beard Director, Advocacy BusinessNZ View profile Activity in New Zealand's manufacturing sector during October remained within a fairly tight band of expansion over recent months, according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).The seasonally adjusted PMI for October was 57.2 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). While this was again 0.4 points lower than the previous month, the figure still represented very healthy and consistent levels of expansion. Overall, the sector has remained in expansion in all months since October 2012.BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that the fundamentals of the October result remained healthy."The two main sub index values of production (60.7) and new orders (60.1) indicated strong expansion for October. Also, while the proportion of positive comments dipped in October (64.2%) compared with 69.5% in September, it was still similar to the 65% recorded in August.BNZ Senior Economist, Craig Ebert, said that "October's result was certainly encouraging, as was September's - bearing in mind the PMI is about the nuts and bolts of activity rather than sentiment about where things might be heading".View the Time Series Data Main Indicies Regional Results Manufacturing Snapshot Craig Ebert Senior Economist, BNZ The PMIWas New Zealand’s manufacturing sector put off by the recent transition to a new government? Not by the look of October’s Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). In fact, it held to a solidly expansive level of 57.2, versus 57.6 in September.Read more Exchange RateBy the same token, it might be too soon to assume that local manufacturing activity has been boosted by the recent fall in the exchange rate.Read more EmploymentIf there were some chinks in October’s PMI they were in the area of employment. We noted last month how the PMI jobs index fizzled out to 50.7 for September, having been running nicely about the 56.0 mark in July and August.Read more FoodThe other thing we are keeping an eye on in respect to the local manufacturing sector is the performance of food processing. We say this with indications that the volume of dairy and meat processing declined in the September quarter, seasonally adjusted.Read more View full BNZ Manufacturing Snapshot PMI Time Series TableThe results are seasonally adjusted. National IndiciesOct2016Jun2017Jul2017Aug2017Sep2017Oct2017 BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI 55.156.055.658.057.657.2 Production58.157.756.760.559.760.7 Employment 53.448.956.056.650.851.0 New Orders55.258.155.859.160.760.1 Finished Stocks52.553.955.952.955.455.0 Deliveries55.457.056.556.158.357.9 View the Time Series Data BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI Time Series January 2018 – October 2017 International ResultsJ.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMITM 2 Nov 201753.3 In this section Surveys & Statistics Performance of Manufacturing Index Performance of Services Index Compliance Cost Survey Exporters Survey Southern Cross Health Society - BusinessNZ Wellness in the Workplace Survey Reports & Publications BusinessNZ Planning Forecast International BusinessNZ RAT Suppliers Guides & Tools BusinessNZ RAT Suppliers RATs for non-critical business, agencies and organisations BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI Time Series Data View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI Sponsor StatementBNZ is delighted to be associated with the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) and BusinessNZ.This association brings together the significant experience of leading business advocacy body BusinessNZ, and business finance specialist BNZ.We look forward to continuing our association with BusinessNZ and associated regional organisations, and to playing our part in the ongoing development of the New Zealand manufacturing sector. View website Media Comment For media comment, please contact: Catherine Beard, BusinessNZ 04 496 6560 Craig Ebert, BNZ 04 474 6799 Technical Comment For more information or assistance with data interpretation, please contact: Steve Summers 04 496 6564 ssummers@businessnz.org.nz Our Contributors The BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI contains data obtained through BusinessNZ's regional organisations About the PMI The BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index is a monthly survey of the manufacturing sector providing an early indicator of activity levels.A PMI reading above 50 points indicates manufacturing activity is expanding; below 50 indicates it is contracting.The main PMI and sub-index results are seasonally adjusted. Related Articles Blooming good – PMI Steady state – PMI Now hiring – PMI Stretching out – PMI Pumping production – PMI View more