Australia Manufacturing Collapses as Commodity Supercycle Stalls; Labor and Unions Wrecked Australia

globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com / By Mike “Mish” Shedlock / Thursday, May 02, 2013 4:26 PM
Australia fundamentals deteriorate rapidly as evidenced by a collapse in the PMI Manufacturing Index in April.

 Key Findings

• Manufacturing activity contracted significantly in April as conditions weakened amid a strong Australian dollar, intense import competition, high energy costs and weak local confidence.
• The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®) fell 7.7 points to 36.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis. (Readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease.)
• This is the lowest level the Australian PMI® has recorded since May 2009, with many of the key sub-indexes also dropping to levels not seen since 2009. The three-month moving average in April fell to 42.2 points from 43.4 points in March.
• Contractions in activity were recorded in seven out of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors. Significant contractions were recorded in food, beverage & tobacco products; printing & recorded media; non-metallic mineral products; metal products; and machinery & equipment.

READ MORE

Please share this article