The Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) has further dropped to 49.6 points in October, marking the third month of the market’s flat conditions.
The result is a 0.6-point drop from September’s results and marks the third month of the market’s flat conditions, following positive results between February and July.
In its report issued today, the Ai Group said three of the six manufacturing sectors comprising the Australian PMI contracted in October 2022.
Activity indicator for new orders was the only index that saw expansion this month. Furthermore, all indicators aside from employment declined from September, which indicates weakening conditions in manufacturing.
Food and beverage and TCF, paper, and printing both recovered this month, while machinery and equipment showed a mildly positive result.
Overall, the sectors reported positive sales, production, and deliveries, but saw weak employment rates.
The index for construction products was stable, but metal products further declined from the previous month’s performance.
The chemical products sector fell from growth to contractions as new orders, sales, and deliveries all slipped.
Meanwhile, the Australian exports index saw a significant decline of 2.1 points to 49.4 points.
Manufacturing exports have shown volatility all throughout 2022, the Ai Group noted.
Manufacturers said lower demands in exports were due to the change in the AUD/USD exchange rate, higher freight costs, availability, as well as uncertainty about the global economic outlook.
