Manufacturing sales in New Zealand rose 2.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, following a 0.3 percent increase in the previous period. Sales of meat and dairy products jumped 10.9 percent, after increasing 1.0 percent in the prior quarter. Also, sales rebounded for seafood processing (7.9 percent compared to -2.8 percent) and non-metallic mineral products (5.1 percent compared to -4.9 percent). In contrast, sales of beverages & tobacco fell 0.2 percent after edging down 0.1 percent, and sales of chemical, polymer & rubber product dropped 7.1 percent following a 3.2 percent decline. On a quarterly basis, manufacturing sales went down 4.7 percent following a 14.5 percent gain in the fourth quarter of 2018. Industrial Production in New Zealand averaged 1.53 percent from 1995 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 17.60 percent in the second quarter of 1995 and a record low of -10.50 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
Industrial Production in New Zealand is expected to be 3.60 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Industrial Production in New Zealand to stand at 2.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the New Zealand Manufacturing Sales is projected to trend around 3.40 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.