Dairy and Meat Lift Manufacturing

Economic Survey of Manufacturing: March 2005 quarter

Dairy and Meat Lift Manufacturing

Seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales for the March 2005 quarter increased 2.9 percent compared with the December 2004 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. The result has been driven by meat and dairy product manufacturing, which rose 13.9 percent, or $560 million.

Nine of the 15 industries recorded increases in seasonally adjusted sales in the March 2005 quarter compared with the December 2004 quarter. Following meat and dairy product manufacturing, the second largest increase was in basic metal manufacturing (up $84 million or 16.2 percent). The largest decrease in seasonally adjusted sales was for machinery and equipment manufacturing (down $160 million or 9.4 percent), followed by transport equipment manufacturing (down $77 million or 11.9 percent).

The value of finished goods stocks as at 31 March 2005 was $7,352 million, an increase of $356 million, when compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

With the effect of price changes removed, seasonally adjusted manufacturing sales increased 1.0 percent in the March 2005 quarter compared with the December 2004 quarter.

Ian Ewing
Acting Government Statistician

ENDS

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