The Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index in New Zealand declined to 49.9 in May, down from a downwardly revised 50.4 in April, marking the first contraction since June 2025 and falling below the long-term average of 52.5. The latest result highlighted that the war in Iran weighed heavily on the index, with the employment sub-index moving into negative territory (49.6 vs 53.2 in April), while production remained stable after expanding in April (50.0 vs 51.4). The contraction was partially offset by finished stocks, which remained in expansion territory (53.8 vs 50.7), while deliveries (51.9 vs 46.8) and new orders (50.1 vs 48.0) both rebounded into expansion territory. "We believe the sector is likely to go through a flat patch during winter but, Middle East willing, we still think the broader economy can pick up some momentum at the tail end of this year, so there is no reason to believe manufacturing will be an exception," BNZ Head of Research, Stephen Toplis, said. source: Business New Zealand

Manufacturing PMI in New Zealand decreased to 49.90 points in May from 50.50 points in April of 2026. Manufacturing PMI in New Zealand averaged 52.46 points from 2002 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 64.40 points in March of 2021 and a record low of 26.00 points in April of 2020. This page provides - New Zealand Manufacturing Pmi - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Manufacturing PMI in New Zealand decreased to 49.90 points in May from 50.50 points in April of 2026. Manufacturing PMI in New Zealand is expected to be 49.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the New Zealand Manufacturing PMI is projected to trend around 52.50 points in 2027 and 51.70 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Bankruptcies 81.00 81.00 Individuals Apr 2026
ANZ Business Confidence 10.00 -10.60 points May 2026
NZIER Capacity Utilization 91.20 89.80 percent Mar 2026
Car Registrations 3500.00 3096.00 Units May 2026
Changes in Inventories 232.00 205.00 NZD Million Mar 2026
Corruption Index 81.00 83.00 Points Dec 2025
Corruption Rank 4.00 4.00 Dec 2025
Industrial Production 0.40 0.90 percent Mar 2026
Manufacturing Sales YoY 2.80 -0.70 percent Mar 2026


New Zealand Manufacturing PMI
The Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) is a composite index based on the diffusion indexes for production, new orders, delivered, inventories and employment. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the manufacturing sector compared to the previous month; below 50 represents a contraction; while 50 indicates no change.

News Stream
New Zealand Manufacturing Shrinks for 1st Time in 11 Months
The Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index in New Zealand declined to 49.9 in May, down from a downwardly revised 50.4 in April, marking the first contraction since June 2025 and falling below the long-term average of 52.5. The latest result highlighted that the war in Iran weighed heavily on the index, with the employment sub-index moving into negative territory (49.6 vs 53.2 in April), while production remained stable after expanding in April (50.0 vs 51.4). The contraction was partially offset by finished stocks, which remained in expansion territory (53.8 vs 50.7), while deliveries (51.9 vs 46.8) and new orders (50.1 vs 48.0) both rebounded into expansion territory. "We believe the sector is likely to go through a flat patch during winter but, Middle East willing, we still think the broader economy can pick up some momentum at the tail end of this year, so there is no reason to believe manufacturing will be an exception," BNZ Head of Research, Stephen Toplis, said.
2026-06-11
New Zealand Manufacturing Growth Hits 7-Month Low
The Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index in New Zealand was 50.5 in April, down from a downwardly revised 52.8 in March, marking the softest expansion since last September and falling below the long-term average of 52.5. The latest result showed the sector expanding at a slower pace, highlighting that the Iran war weighed heavily on the index. Three of the five sub-indices remained in expansion territory, led by employment (53.4 vs 51.8 in April), followed by production (51.7 vs 53.4) and finished stocks (50.5 vs 53.8). Contractions were seen in new orders (48.2 vs 55.0) and deliveries (46.5 vs 49.6). " The Performance 1of Manufacturing Index had been remarkably robust, with the headline reading for March down on previous months but still solidly above the breakeven line. However, we feared it was only a matter of time before the wheels started to fall off and, alas, the April survey indicates that time may now have arrived.” BNZ Head of Research, Stephen Toplis, said.
2026-05-14
New Zealand Manufacturing PMI Falls to 4-Month Low
The BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index in New Zealand was 53.2 in March, down from a downwardly revised 54.8 in February, marking the softest expansion since last November, but still above the long-term average of 52.5. The latest result showed the sector expanding at a slower pace, highlighting that the Iran war weighed heavily on the index. Four of the five sub-indexes were in expansion, led by new orders, despite a downturn compared to the previous month at 55.8 (vs 57.2 in February), followed by finished stocks (54.0 vs 51.3), production (53.8 vs 56.3), and employment (51.4 vs 50.3), while deliveries stabilized (50.0 vs 50.7). “The PMI result supports our view that economic growth was reasonable in the first quarter of the year, even though material headwinds had accumulated by quarter’s end,” BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said.
2026-04-09