The Howard Government continues to oversee a poor performance in Australian manufacturing according to the latest Australian Industry Group (AIG)-Pricewaterhouse Coopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) report released today.
The report showed many manufacturing sectors are experiencing serious decline including clothing and footwear; wood products and furniture; paper printing and publishing; and construction materials.
The overall PMI figure was 50.5 a fall from the April figure of 52.9 and perilously close to a sub 50 point figure which indicates negative growth.
The Production PMI fell by 1.5 points to 49.4 points this follows on from a disastrous drop of 4.6 points in April. The report also states that employment has also fallen in firms of all sizes, particularly large firms.
At last manufactured exports has shown an increase at 52.6 however after three consecutive months of decline. This can be viewed as a catch-up rather than an advance.
The AIG report predicts an annual manufacturing growth figure of below 2% for 2005. This is well below the Howard Government’s already low average annual growth figure of 3.9% since taking office in 1996.
Heather Ridout of AIG has echoed Labor by highlighting manufactured export underperformance as a major public policy issue that the Howard Government needs to address as a matter of urgency.
Unfortunately, Prime Minister Howard continues to turn a deaf ear to calls from Labor and industry groups to address this pressing problem.
Contact: Taryn Langdon 0147 148 059 or 02 6277 3334
