Manufacturing sector expands a bit in December, sends mixed signals for next quarter
The Australian manufacturing industry appears to have fought off the uncertainty bug in the December quarter, assuming a more definite path as business activities, investments and profitability saw firm improvements in the period.
Following the unpredictability seen in the October, the combined industrial trends survey conducted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and Westpac showed that the manufacturing industry's composite index moved up by three points to 52.5 points.
The gain, according to the latest survey released on Thursday, effectively surpassed the 50-point threshold level that largely indicates the sector is heading towards expansion and tethering away from threats of contraction.
However, ACCI director Greg Evans noted that the registered improvement in the manufacturing sector is mostly steady and far from being spectacular.
Evans cautioned that while growth obviously marked the December quarter, the prospect of the same condition for the March quarter early next year appears to be bleak.
He said that manufacturing environment in the first quarter of 2011 would have to factor in the varying impacts of "the November rate rise, continuing international instability and the longer-term impact of a high dollar."
On the other hand, Westpac is espousing a more positive outlook for the sector as its senior economist Anthony Thompson observed that the stalled growth seen in the September merely indicated that adjustments were made by the industry in light of the uncertain results that marred the August national elections.
Thompson said that the December manufacturing figures pointed to some promises of accelerating growth to occur by March next year as he added that the survey actually forecasted that composite index should register 55.1 points in the quarter.
That projection, according to the Westpac analyst, should prove as the industry's best numbers since the March quarter this year and wholly consistent with predictions that the Australian economy would experience growth of up to four percent during the first quarter of 2011.
Thompson also stressed that the numbers posted in the December quarter clearly "points to strong accelerating investment growth."