NZ manufacturing sales volumes lifted by transport equipment and machinery

New Zealand's manufacturing activity continued to gain in the first quarter of the year. Photo/123RF.

New Zealand manufacturing sales volumes were boosted by transport equipment and machinery manufacturing in the first quarter.

The volume of all manufacturing sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4 per cent in the three months to March 31 while the value lifted 0.6 per cent, Statistics New Zealand said. Nine of the 13 manufacturing industries had sales rises in the March 2018 quarter.

The Stats NZ survey showed that the largest movements were in the equipment and machinery manufacturing, up 6 per cent.

"The rise in transport equipment and machinery manufacturing follows a fall in the previous December quarter," Stats NZ manufacturing statistics manager Sue Chapman said. "The latest rise is the largest since March 2011, and the fourth-largest rise since the series began."

The sales volume of meat and dairy product manufacturing - which accounts for around a quarter of production - lifted 2.2 per cent while the value fell 4.7 per cent on the quarter.

Overseas trade indexes show the dairy export volume fell 0.6 per cent, while the meat export volume fell 8.8 per cent in the March 2018 quarter. Although export volumes fell, the volume of finished goods stocks (which is not seasonally adjusted) for meat and dairy product manufacturing was up 3.7 per cent, or $177 million, from the March 2017 quarter, Stats NZ said.

The actual volume of total manufacturing sales was up 2.8 per cent on the year. When price changes are included, the value of manufacturing sales was $27.4 billion in the March quarter, up $1.8 billion on the year.

The data is the final component before the release of the March quarter gross domestic product data, due June 21.