The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index dropped -4.8 pts to 58.3 in April. AiG noted in the release that it indicated a “slower – but still buoyant – rate of expansion”, after reaching a record high in march. April was also the nineteenth month of expanding or stable conditions, the longest run of continuous expansion since 2005.
Looking at the sub-indexes, sales dropped -1.4 to 62.5. Production dropped -0.1 to 62.1. new orders dropped -5 to 61.6. Employment dropped -3.9 to 56.1. Deliveries dropped sharply by -12.8 to 53.8.
Stocks dropped -6.2 to 49.8. Exports dropped -10.9 to 48.0, first contraction since October 2017. AiG noted that “Exports weakened in the food and beverages and the petroleum, coal, chemicals and rubber products sub-sectors.”
