Manufacturing slowdown continues

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Manufacturing activity shows moderate contraction during May 2003.

Manufacturing activity continued to show moderate contraction during May, according to the ANZ-Business NZ PMI (performance of manufacturing index).

The May PMI was 49.6, up from 49.3 in April (a PMI reading above 50 points indicates manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50 indicates it is contracting).

The PMI showed moderate decline in three sub-indexes: production, employment and deliveries.

The finished stocks sub-index recorded a value close to 50.0 in May, indicating little excessive stock build-up or depletion at an industry-wide level.

The forward looking new orders sub-index continued to show expansion in three of the country’s four regions, however the largest region (Northern) recorded a contraction (46.8).

Many firms put the decline down to seasonal factors, with some reporting the now fading SARS epidemic and the high NZ dollar have dampened activity, while a number of firms reported a pickup in activity which may feed through into future PMI results.

Full results are available on www.anz.co.nz under 'ANZ Spotlight/Economics' and on www.businessnz.org.nz under 'PMI Reports'.

The ANZ-Business NZ PMI (performance of manufacturing index) is sponsored by business banking specialist ANZ Banking Group (NZ) Ltd and draws on the depth of member companies associated with Business NZ: EMA (Northern), EMA (Central), Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association and Otago Southland Employers’ Association.

For media comment:<br>
Simon Carlaw Chief Executive Business NZ ph 04
4966555, <A
href="mailto:scarlaw@businessnz.org.nz">scarlaw@businessnz.org.nz</A>;
<br>David Drage Chief Economist ANZ ph 04 4968795, <A
href="mailto:draged@anz.com">draged@anz.com</A><br>;
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For more information or assistance with data
interpretation, contact Stephen Summers, ph 04 4966564, <A
href="mailto:ssummers@businessnz.org.nz">ssummers@businessnz.org.nz</A>;.