NZ second quarter manufacturing volumes, values boosted by meat and dairy

The volume of total manufacturing sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1 per cent in the June quarter. Photo / 123RF

Both the volume and value of New Zealand's manufacturing sales rose in the June quarter, lifted by meat and dairy product manufacturing.

The volume of total manufacturing sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1 per cent in the June quarter after a 0.2 per cent fall in the March quarter, Statistics New Zealand said. The value of manufacturing sales rose a seasonally adjusted 3.9 per cent in the June quarter after lifting 3.1 per cent in the March quarter.

Meat and dairy product manufacturing volumes rose 8.2 per cent in the quarter while the sales values for those commodities lifted 13 per cent. Excluding meat and dairy, the manufacturing sales volume fell 0.2 per cent, following a 1.5 per cent rise in the March quarter.

"The rise in the meat and dairy sales volume followed falls in the previous two quarters," manufacturing manager Sue Chapman said. Overseas trade indices showed dairy export volumes rose 19 percent, while the meat export volume rose 2.5 per cent in the June 2017 quarter.

New Zealand's manufacturing sector has been in almost continuous expansion since October 2012, based on the Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index. However, over the longer-term, manufacturing has declined as a percentage of the economy, from about 26 per cent of gross domestic production 40 years ago to about 13 per cent in 2009, with a rise in services, now the biggest contributor to GDP.

Of the 13 manufacturing industries that are measured, eight rose on a volume basis and five fell in the latest quarter.

Petroleum and coal product manufacturing (which is not seasonally adjusted) fell 10 per cent while chemical, polymer, and rubber product manufacturing, was down 7.9 per cent.

In terms of the value of manufacturing sales, chemical, polymer, and rubber manufacturing dropped 8.3 per cent while petroleum and coal product manufacturing fell 8.1 per cent.

The volume of finished goods stock, which is not seasonally adjusted, for total manufacturing was 7.2 percent lower than it was in the same quarter a year earlier, Statistics NZ said.