The total vole of manufacturing activity in New Zealand climbed 0.3 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2017, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday.
That was down from the 1.0 percent jump in the second quarter.
Of the 13 manufacturing industries, seven fell and six rose in the latest quarter.
The main movements by industry were: chemical, polymer, and rubber product manufacturing, up 3.7 percent; transport equipment, machinery and equipment manufacturing, up 2.8 percent; and petroleum and coal product manufacturing, down 2.0 percent.
"The September quarter's rise in chemical, polymer, and rubber product manufacturing sales followed a sizeable 8.5 percent fall in the June 2017 quarter," manufacturing manager Sue Chapman said. "This industry includes the manufacturing of fertilizer, plastics, and rubber products."
Excluding meat and dairy, the manufacturing sales volume rose 0.4 percent, following a flat June quarter (0.1 percent fall).
By value, manufacturing activity was up 0.5 percent on quarter - also down from the downwardly revised 3.4 percent spike in the three months prior (originally 3.9 percent).
The main movements by industry were: transport equipment, machinery and equipment manufacturing, up 2.5 percent ($72 million); chemical, polymer, and rubber product manufacturing, up 2.6 percent ($59 million); and beverage and tobacco manufacturing, up 3.1 percent ($45 million).
On a yearly basis, the volume of manufacturing activity was down 9.9 percent in Q3.
The volume for the meat and dairy manufacturing industry fell 16 percent on year - however, due to high meat and dairy prices, the value of finished goods stocks for the industry rose 11 percent.
When excluding meat and dairy manufacturing, the volume of finished goods stocks was 6.3 percent lower on year.
by RTT Staff Writer
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