The food and beverage sector of the manufacturing industry was the only one to expand in November, according to the Australian Industry Group – PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index.
The sector defied trends by growing 4.9 points (from 42.8 to 50.7) throughout the month, with the index reporting a drop of 1.6 points for the overall manufacturing industry.
Production expanded in three out of the 11 sub-sectors for November, with strong increases reported for the food and beverage and wood products and furniture sub-sectors, as well as growth in the miscellaneous manufacturers sector.
The growth of the food and beverage sector is also thanks to growth in new orders and exports, which have increased strongly in the past five months.
Despite employment and average wages decreasing five points to 41.7 for the industry as a whole, employment in food and beverage manufacturing expanded in November, as it did in the paper, printing and publishing sub-sectors.
Click here for more detailed information from the Australian Industry Group – PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index.