Manufacturing sales volume at 10-year low

The volume of manufacturing sales fell 1.8 percent in the June 2010 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today.

"Manufacturing sales volumes are now at their lowest level for over 10 years," business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said.

Falls were recorded for 10 of the 15 industries, while four rose and one was flat. The other food industry, which includes seafood, and fruit and vegetables had the largest decrease, down 5.7 percent. The top five contributors to the fall in manufacturing also included the meat and dairy; textiles and apparel; beverages, malt, and tobacco; and the structural, sheet, and fabricated metal industries. Partly offsetting these falls was a 15.1 percent rise in the basic metal industry.

Excluding the meat and dairy industry, the volume of sales fell 3.6 percent in the latest quarter.

The trend indicates the volume of manufacturing has been falling since the September 2007 quarter, apart from two quarters in late 2009 that were flat.

In current prices, the seasonally adjusted value of sales increased 3.1 percent, driven by a 13.9 percent increase in the meat and dairy industry. Excluding the meat and dairy industry, the value of sales fell 2.2 percent. Most of the industries in this group recorded decreased sales.