BNZ – BusinessNZ
Performance of
Manufacturing
Index

Finishing on a stronger note – PMI

11 Dec, 2020
55.3
November
+2.9

Monthly Change

expanding
faster rate

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector experienced a pick-up in expansion during November, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for November was 55.3 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).  This was up 2.9 points from October, and the highest level of expansion since July.

BusinessNZ’s executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that the sector has now remained in positive territory for the sixth consecutive month, despite swings in the actual activity levels.

“The key indices of production (55.4) and new orders (57.6) both displayed healthy levels of expansion during November, while employment (51.5) eased back to September levels.  Interestingly, finished stocks (59.0) recorded its highest value since the survey began, which may be due to COVID related delayed activity and distribution issues that has plagued 2020.”

“Overall, the sector is shaping up to end 2020 on a positive note, which would be a considerable contrast to what was seen during the first half of the year.”     

BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel said that “as a measure of change, the PMI suggests that the manufacturing sector continues to move in the right direction after getting hit hard earlier in the year by COVID related restrictions.”

Catherine Beard

Catherine Beard

Director, Advocacy BusinessNZ

BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI

Time Series Data

View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI

Manufacturing Snapshot

Positive results

November saw the manufacturing sector take a stride forward.  The Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) lifted to 55.3 from 52.4 in October. It’s the sixth consecutive monthly reading above the breakeven 50 mark. Moreover, the index is now back above its long-term average of 53.0.
Read more

But

As positive as the headline PMI results look, there are some areas to monitor. One is deliveries of raw materials. While this measure did rise, to 52.2 from 49.6, it was the only subcomponent sitting below its long-term average. This suggests manufacturers continue to face some challenges sourcing inputs to the production process.
Read more

Regional differences

While it is difficult to know the drivers, there were some clear differences across the major regions. While all regions’ PMIs were on the right side of 50 in November, the Central and Canterbury regions’ results stood out in both being well above their normal readings for November.
Read more

GDP thoughts

After working through the detail of this week’s official manufacturing sales and inventory data for Q3, we estimate the sector staged something like a 20% rebound in production after Q2’s huge disruption. We think this will be part of a huge bounce in overall Q3 GDP when the figures are released next week.
Read more

Doug Steel

Doug Steel

Senior Economist, BNZ

Sponsor Statement

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.

PMI Time Series Table

The results are seasonally adjusted.

National Indicies Nov
2019
Jul
2020
Aug
2020
Sep
2020
Oct
2020
Nov
2020
BNZ – BusinessNZ PMI 50.2 59.1 50.9 53.7 52.4 55.3
Production 48.3 61.9 51.5 55.9 52.0 55.4
Employment 48.7 47.2 49.2 51.6 52.4 51.5
New Orders 52.3 67.7 54.1 57.5 52.8 57.6
Finished Stocks 48.8 51.8 50.1 49.0 49.2 59.0
Deliveries 50.7 58.4 47.6 49.8 49.6 52.2

BNZ – BusinessNZ PMI Time Series

November 2020 – November 2024

International Results

J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMITM

01 Dec 2020
53.7

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.

Technical Contact

Stephen Summers
Economist, BusinessNZ

[email protected]

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Our Contributors

The BNZ – BusinessNZ PMI contains data obtained through BusinessNZ’s regional organisations