Manufacturing volumes down, values up

Wednesday 8th December 2010

Manufacturing volumes fell a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in the September quarter from the previous three months, its third consecutive decline.

Despite the fall in volume, the value of sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3%, driven by a 3.2% rise in meat and dairy, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said today.

Volume declines included paper and paper product manufacturing down 7.9%, wood products down 5%, petroleum and industrial chemicals down 8.2%, machinery and equipment down 3%, and meat and dairy product manufacturing down 0.9%.

Partly offsetting the falls, transport equipment manufacturing volumes were up 8.5% in the September quarter, while beverage, malt and tobacco volumes lifted 4.1%.

When meat and dairy product manufacturing was excluded from the total, the volume of sales was down 1.9%, while the value of sales fell 0.5%.

The volume of sales for meat and dairy product manufacturing was 10.5% lower than in the December quarter, following three quarters of decline, SNZ said.

Dairy product values rose 3.9% in the latest quarter, with meat products up 2%.

Petroleum and industrial chemical manufacturing values fell 9.9% or $74 million in the September quarter, while beverage, malt and tobacco manufacturing values rose $59 million or 5.8%, transport equipment rose $54 million or 8.8%, and wood product manufacturing dropped $41 million or 3.6%.

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