Manufacturing sector shrinks again

Manufacturing sector shrinks again
Andy Fyers
The rate of contraction in the manufacturing sector remained the same in December as in November, the third consecutive month of decline.The Performance of Manufacturing Index returned a reading of 47.2 for the month – a reading below 50 indicated that manufacturing is declining and above 50 meant it was expanding.Business NZ's director for advocacy, Catherine Beard, said New Zealand manufacturers may need to brace for a challenging year.“While new orders (46.1) did show some improvement from November, finished stocks (50.1) and...