Ongoing strength in new orders kept manufacturing in positive territory for the first month of 2010, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for January at 52.
Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI)
BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) 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.
Manufacturing activity ended the year on a positive note, with expansion small but steady, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for December at 52.9.
Manufacturing activity showed expansion for the third consecutive month, providing a solid if unspectacular end to 2009, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for November at 51.8.
Expansion dipped in October after gradual improvements in activity during the second half of 2009, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for October at 50.6.
Expansion across most sub-indices meant overall manufacturing expanded for the first time since April 2008, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for September at 51.7.
A lower result for both production and new orders meant activity fell back for August, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for August at 48.7.
A positive result for both production and new orders helped push manufacturing activity further out of the doldrums in July, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for July at 49.7.
Manufacturing activity continued to climb out of the depths of contraction with the highest overall activity level in nine months, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for June at 46.2.
Although manufacturing activity experienced a slightly larger decrease in activity in May, the sector generally remains in a tight band of performance since the start of the year, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for May at 42.7.
Manufacturing had its second consecutive improvement in April, although the sector continues to remain in contraction, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for April at 43.7.
Manufacturing activity was still contracting during March, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for March at 40.7.
Last month manufacturing declined to its second lowest level on record, with a seasonally adjusted PMI for February at 38.6.