Stepping Up – PMI 12 Nov 2021 54.3October+2.7Monthly Changeexpandingpreviously contracting Catherine Beard Director, Advocacy BusinessNZ View profile New Zealand's manufacturing sector saw further steps into expansion for October, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).The seasonally adjusted PMI for October was 54.3 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 2.7 points higher than September.BusinessNZ's Director, Advocacy Catherine Beard said that the increased activity for October was fairly evenly spread across the sub index values."The key sub-indices of Production (54.0) and New Orders (53.9) were both in positive territory for the first time since July. Like the last national lockdown, Deliveries (59.9) led the way towards catching up on activity, although Employment (52.1) fell back to its lowest result since February.""In addition, the proportion of negative comments from respondents dropped to 55.4% for October, compared with 71% in September and 78% in August."BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel stated that “even though October’s reading is above average, we’d classify it more in the realm of some recovery from a large hit rather than an indication of outright strength."View the Time Series Data Main Indicies Regional Results Manufacturing Snapshot Doug Steel Senior Economist, BNZ PMIThe Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) lifted to 54.3 in October. This builds on the 51.6 it managed to get to in September, after the extreme weakness of 39.7 during August’s level 4 restrictions. It’s a step in the right direction.Read moreRegionalBy region, Northern saw the strongest unadjusted reading, of 62.5, in October. Again, this looks like some bounce from a period of extreme weakness (remember 28.1 back in August) compared to other regions rather than necessarily portraying a strong level of activity.Read moreDetailsThe PMI production index lifted to 54.0 in October. This follows two months in contraction territory, offering a sense that manufacturing output turned the corner in the month.Read moreEmploymentThrough all the chop and change over recent months, employment indicators have remained positive. Sure, the PMI employment index eased to 52.1 in October from 54.2 in September, but it remains above its long-term norm.Read more View full BNZ Manufacturing Snapshot PMI Time Series TableThe results are seasonally adjusted. National IndiciesOct2020Jun2021Jul2021Aug2021Sep2021Oct2021 BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI 51.359.962.439.751.654.3 Production51.962.963.227.149.854.0 Employment 52.056.557.854.154.252.1 New Orders52.562.863.244.054.153.9 Finished Stocks49.256.956.445.950.254.9 Deliveries48.654.655.132.947.959.9 View the Time Series Data BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI Time Series January 2018 – October 2021 International ResultsJ.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMITM 2 Nov 202154.3 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 Doug Steel, 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