Manufacturing sales volume continues to fall

After adjusting for seasonal effects, the volume of manufacturing sales fell 1.4 percent in the September 2010 quarter, the third consecutive quarter that volumes have fallen, Statistics New Zealand said today. “Manufacturing sales volumes remain at their lowest level in more than 10 years,” business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said. Falls were recorded for nine of the 15 manufacturing industries, while four rose and two were flat.  The biggest falls were in:

• paper and paper product manufacturing – down 7.9 percent
• wood product manufacturing – down 5.0 percent 
• petroleum and industrial chemical manufacturing – down 8.2 percent
• machinery and equipment manufacturing – down 3.0 percent
• meat and dairy product manufacturing – down 0.9 percent.

The biggest rises in sales volumes were in transport equipment manufacturing (up 8.5 percent) and beverage, malt, and tobacco manufacturing (up 4.1 percent).

Excluding meat and dairy product manufacturing, sales volumes fell 1.9 percent.

The trend indicates the volume of manufacturing sales has generally been falling since the September 2007 quarter, down 12.6 percent.

In current prices, the seasonally adjusted value of sales increased 1.3 percent, driven by a 3.2 percent increase in the meat and dairy industry. Excluding meat and dairy, the value of sales decreased 0.5 percent in the September 2010 quarter.

Highlights

• Sales (seasonally adjusted) for the September 2010 quarter compared with the June 2010 quarter:
• Volumes
• Manufacturing fell 1.4 percent.
• Excluding meat and dairy product manufacturing, sales volume fell 1.9 percent.
• Meat and dairy product manufacturing fell 0.9 percent.

Values

• Manufacturing rose 1.3 percent.
• Excluding meat and dairy product manufacturing, sales value fell 0.5 percent.
• Meat and dairy product manufacturing rose 3.2 percent.