Steady Pace – PMI 14 Jul 2017 56.2June-2.0Monthly Changeexpandingslower rate Catherine Beard Director, Advocacy BusinessNZ View profile New Zealand's manufacturing sector saw expansion continue to hover around expansion levels experienced over the last three months, according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for June was 56.2 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 2.0 points lower than May, and similar to expansion levels seen in April. Overall, the sector has remained in expansion in all months since October 2012.BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that the last four months show the sector hovering around an expansion range between 56-58, which is still positive and healthy. "Encouragingly new orders (58.7) continues to push forward with healthy expansion, followed by production (58.0). However, one noticeable dip was for employment (49.5), which went into minor contraction for the first time since November 2016. "While expansion eased during June, the proportion of positive comments stood at 68.2%, compared 69.4% in May and 64.7% in April".BNZ Senior Economist, Craig Ebert, said "that while it was always going to struggle to match its 58.2 level of May, at 56.2 in June the PMI was still nicely above average".View the Time Series Data Main Indicies Regional Results Manufacturing Snapshot Craig Ebert Senior Economist, BNZ The PMINew Zealand's Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) has largely maintained its solid momentum of recent months. While it was always going to struggle to match its 58.2 level of May, at 56.2 in June the PMI was still nicely above average.Read more ActivityBroadly speaking, the latest PMI was expansive. Certainly, its output index was robust, at a seasonally adjusted 58.0, from 59.5 in May.Read more EmploymentIf there was a weak spot in June's PMI it was arguably in its employment index. Indeed, it slumped to 49.5, so below the breakeven mark of 50. However, it seems too early to judge this as a genuinely negative read.Read more CapacityIn any case, NZ manufacturers would appear to be having problems finding staff in the first place. We got this impression from the QSBO variables on difficulty in finding labour.Read more View full BNZ Manufacturing Snapshot PMI Time Series TableThe results are seasonally adjusted. National Indicies Jun2016Feb2017Mar2017Apr2017May2017 Jun2017 BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI 57.855.758.156.758.256.2 Production60.557.860.156.959.558.0 Employment 53.651.553.553.055.049.5 New Orders61.459.063.061.760.658.7 Finished Stocks51.355.753.054.054.654.5 Deliveries56.354.354.454.958.257.2 View the Time Series Data BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI Time Series January 2018 – June 2017 International ResultsJ.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMITM 3 Jul 201752.6 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