As one of Australia’s premier trailer manufacturers, The Drake Group has always had a keen interest in the state of the local and worldwide manufacturing industry. Trends seen in one sector of the industry can have a dramatic impact – for good or bad – in others down the line, so it’s important to stay on top of what’s happening. This is where the Australian PMI comes in.
The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) commenced in 1992 and tracks the many different manufacturing sectors in the country and compares their output against how they did in previous months. These figures are then collated together into a monthly report which comprehensively details how the manufacturing industry is performing. This information is used by business owners across the country to plan for future growth or prepare for market fluctuations.
Overall, the news in the latest PMI report is very good. In fact, this is the 21st consecutive month that the PMI has shown positive conditions, which indicates a continued growth period across the board. Of the seven activity types measured by the survey, six of them showed signs of expansion in June 2018, while the lone outlier (finished stocks) was still stable. New orders fell in June, while employment is showing signs of expansion which continues a steady positive trend that started in late 2016.
Many sub-sectors booming
Food & Beverages manufacturing is by far the biggest sub-sector of the manufacturing world, so even the smallest change in growth can have-reaching implications. This facet of the industry rose by almost a full point in June, buoyed by strong export demand which in turn was driven by a low Australian dollar and increased local demand. Meanwhile, Wood & Paper manufacturing showed steady growth. The sub-sectors index grew 1.3 points and are now 54.0 points overall. As groceries and processed foods come into greater demand, this gives extra work to paper and packaging producers.
Petroleum, Coal & Chemicals manufacturing fell 0.9 points during the month of June but is still rating at an impressive 62.3 points and looks set to grow even stronger into the future. While petrol is a large part of this pool of industries, the overall group includes a wide variety of products including healthcare supplements, fertilisers and toiletries. The only potential danger for the group is rising gas costs.
Transport industry in focus
Finally, and of most interest to us a semi-trailer manufacturer, the Machinery & Equipment sub-sector continues to show demand is strong. It includes markets that service the mining, agriculture and food processing, including transport such as our range of heavy haulage trailers. While the overall group fell 0.3 points, it still remains relatively high at 58.9 points thanks to strong sales of trucks, trains, buses and boats. This shows that the country is still focused on keeping its people and products moving as efficiently and safely as possible. The only dark spot on the financial horizon comes from drought conditions impacting the sales of agricultural machinery and equipment.
Take part in the PMI survey
Performers in every part of the manufacturing industry are invited to take part in the next PMI survey to help better inform the results. The survey is open again and will remain so until July 27. It is free to enter your survey results and will only take five minutes to complete with a few simple questions to answer.
At The Drake Group, we continue to serve local industries of all shapes and sizes across Australia. Contact The Drake Group in Brisbane about our range of trailers built for every purpose.
