Slowly does it – PMI 14 Apr 2022 53.8March+0.2Monthly Changeexpandingfaster rate Catherine Beard Director, Advocacy BusinessNZ View profile New Zealand's manufacturing sector saw another, albeit slight, improvement in its level of expansion, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).The seasonally adjusted PMI for March was 53.8 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 0.2 points higher than February, and above the long-term average of 53.1 for the survey.BusinessNZ's Director, Advocacy Catherine Beard said that the March result was another encouraging step towards getting the sector back on track. "In terms of the main sub-indices, New Orders (61.0) continued its healthy momentum upwards, although Production (50.9) did fall back to its level of expansion experienced in January. Employment (52.4) rose to its highest level since September 2021, while Finished Stocks (53.5) also picked up to its highest result since October 2021."Comments from manufacturers were still firmly in negative territory (64.2%), although down from 69.9% in February. Unsurprisingly, COVID dominates discussion, with supply chain disruptions one of the key outcomes.BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel stated that “Omicron's impact may not be as harsh as the first 2020 COVID lockdown or last year’s Delta lockdown, but it’s there. Production has struggled, with the index slipping to 50.9 in March and a bit further below its long-term average."View the Time Series Data Main Indicies Regional Results Doug Steel Senior Economist, BNZ PMIMarch’s Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) looks good at the headline level, but it is not without a decent chunk of bother in the detail.Read more The positivesNew orders stood head and shoulders above other components, both outright and compared to normal. March’s 61.0 outcome, which is a decent push up from February’s already solid 58.6, is a full 6 points above its long-term norm.Read more Omicron impactStrong new orders indicate people want stuff done. The challenge for manufacturers has been not enough people, or materials, or capacity, or all of the above, to do it.Read more JuxtapositionIt is peculiar to see a firmly positive PMI while the number of negative comments from respondents significantly outweigh positive comments. Indeed, negative comments outweighed positive comments in March by a factor of two to one.Read more View full BNZ Manufacturing Snapshot PMI Time Series TableThe results are seasonally adjusted. National IndiciesMar2021Nov2021Dec2021Jan2022Feb2022Mar2022 BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI 63.551.453.952.353.653.8 Production66.753.156.250.951.750.9 Employment 53.748.652.349.852.052.4 New Orders72.455.657.453.858.661.0 Finished Stocks55.348.853.052.550.253.5 Deliveries64.844.451.453.853.151.9 View the Time Series Data BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI Time Series January 2018 – March 2022 International ResultsJ.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMITM 1 Apr 202252.7 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 BNZ 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