Manufacturers in Otago and Southland supplying wood and metal products to the construction sector were thriving, Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive Virginia Nicholls said yesterday.
Responding to the latest BNZ-BusinessNZ performance in manufacturing index, Mrs Nicholls said the regional PMI had expanded to 53 points in June, an increase from May and from June last year.
A figure above 50 indicated expansion and the higher the number, the stronger the expansion.
Below 50 indicated a contraction.
The marine sector in the region was also experiencing positive winter sales.
The top region for June was central on 60.5 points, northern was next on 57.8 and Canterbury-Westland was last on 52.5 points.
The seasonally-adjusted New Zealand PMI was 57.7, up half a point.
In Otago-Southland, food manufacturers supplying supermarkets were experiencing mixed results.
High-end products were selling well in the Auckland market, Mrs Nicholls said.
As expected, manufacturers supplying the agricultural sector continued to struggle.
Manufacturers supplying tourist retail shops had also experienced mixed results as the unseasonably warm weather extended the tourist shoulder longer than expected.
A strong New Zealand dollar was having a negative effect on some exporters whose main market was Australia, she said.
ManufacturingNZ executive director Catherine Beard said the fundamental components of the New Zealand manufacturing sector continued to hold up well.
Both production and new orders remained above the 60-point range and employment experienced its fourth consecutive rise in activity.
Despite the proportion of positive comments falling slightly from 66.4% in May to 62.8% in June, a combination of seasonal factors, expanding markets and construction projects helped keep the positive trend going, she said.
BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said the June PMI took Brexit in its stride.
The survey was in the field in the first week of July and not one response made reference to the decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.
Local issues were to the fore, particularly the strength of building activity and the mild winter weather.
In keeping with the PMI readings in recent months, manufacturers responding to the June Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion perked up, he said.
A net 21% expected higher production in the coming three months compared to the net 10% who thought that way in March.
"This pick-up tallied with a much more positive expectation around new orders, which lifted to +28% from +8% - another point of correspondence to the PMI.''
