The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions, completed during February 2017, shows total sales in January 2017 decreased 2.49% (year on year export sales decreased by 3.86% with domestic sales decreasing by 0.66%) on January 2016.
For results tables and graphs, click here.
In the 3 months to January, export sales increased an average of 4.2%, and domestic sales increased 4.8% on average.
The NZMEA survey sample this month covered NZ$232m in annualised sales, with an export content of 56%.
Net confidence fell to -7, down from 10 in December.
The current performance index (a combination of profitability and cash flow) is at 101.3, up from 99.3 last month, the change index (capacity utilisation, staff levels, orders and inventories) was at 101, with no change from the last survey, and the forecast index (investment, sales, profitability and staff) is at 105.3, up on the last result of 104.5. Anything over 100 indicates expansion.
Constraints reported were 75% markets, 17% skilled staff and 8% capital.
A net 13% of respondents reported a productivity increase in January.
Staff numbers decreased 4.10% year on year in January.
Supervisors, tradespersons, managers, professional/scientists and operators/labourers reported a moderate shortage.
“2017 has seen a slow start for manufacturers, experiencing falls in both domestic and export sales on January 2016. This comes after a strong end to the year for November and December, though the export sales did experience challenges prior to this in October, September and July.” Said NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam.
“Domestic were flat in January, falling 0.66% on the same month in 2016. The three month average for domestic sales stayed relatively strong at 4.8%. Export sales decreased 3.86% on January 2016, but sales on the three month average measure say an increase of 4.2%, boosted by the impressive increases felt in November and December.
“Sentiment measures were mixed in January – net confidence fell on December, slipping into the negative. In contrast, our index measures of performance and forecast increased, both sitting in expansion, while the change index remained the same as in December. Staff numbers fell 4.10% on January 2016 – this may be a reflection of some of the challenges in export sales over the last 6 months.
“For comparison, in the recent Overseas Merchandise Trade release from Statistics New Zealand, the value of mechanical machinery and equipment exports increased 1.5% in January on the previous month, but remained 5.4% lower than January 2016. Electrical machinery and equipment exports were flat in January, with an increase of 0.3% on the previous month. These did, however, experience a 9.5% drop on January 2016.
“All in all, we need to keep in mind that surveys of the manufacturing sector will be subject to fluctuations. Weak trends at least aren’t that easy to spot, even when looking at quarterly figures. We also need to be aware that our manufacturing sector is quite closely linked to global trends, and that globally there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment, especially where demand for capital goods is concerned. A lot of what our members manufacture are components or sub-systems for capital goods produced overseas.” Said Dieter Adam.
For further comment, contact Dieter Adam, 027 495 3276.
| An NZMEA release | March 07, 2017 ||
AECOM, the world’s biggest engineering firm, plans to spend billions of dollars on acquisitions amid expectations for growing U.S. funding of road, rail, water and energy projects, Chief Executive Officer Michael Burke said.
“We’ll look to be the largest infrastructure firm in the world -- both construction and design,” Burke said Monday in an interview at Bloomberg’s Los Angeles bureau. “I’ve got to spend $3.5 billion, and we think it’ll be spent on good, solid strategic acquisitions. We will grow organically also.”
Infrastructure spending by the U.S. government is likely to grow because it’s one of the few priorities shared by President Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and voters, Burke said. Trump told Congress last week he wants to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure, a proposal Burke expects to be detailed later this year but that will take years to implement.
“I think a plan will be put in place before the end of 2017,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview later Monday with Vonnie Quinn. “And then it will be implemented over the course of ’18 and ’19 and forward.”
The last major acquisition by Los Angeles-based AECOM, which reported $17.4 billion in revenue in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, was URS Corp. for $5.6 billion. The 2014 deal “created synergies” of about $325 million, exceeding projections, while also helping AECOM win more bids because of expanded capabilities, Burke said. AECOM has landed $12.3 billion of new projects over its two most recent quarters, he said, putting it on pace to surpass last year’s revenue.
> > > A Bloomberg release continue to full article
Wouldn’t it be cool to have something as hard as steel and still malleable? Researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan have gotten a one up on this thought, they’ve built a new hydrogel material that has been reinforced with fibres and according to them it is five times harder to break than carbon steel. Along with this use the material is also very easy to bend and stretch.The researchers made a material that’s super tough and flexible at the same time
The researchers developed the fabric which is called fibre-reinforced soft composite (or FRSC). They did this by combining hydrogels- containing very high levels of water- with glass fibre fabric. The process of combining two materials together to get the best mix of both their properties is something that has been going on for a long time. This is a useful technique and can be used to create some really wonderful things. The idea is that you end up with a better product than the two standalone source materials.
Creating a substance that could easily bear heavy loads and was also very resistant to fractures was something that the scientists set out to create. These traits were easily found in hydrogels while the extra rigidity and durability was provided through the glass fibre fabric.
Just imagine the uses that this material could have. One good use would be building artificial ligaments or tendons for people who have ruptured their original ones. It could also be alternatively used in the fashion industry for manufacturing a very elastic but tough material.
| Originally published wccftech | March 07, 2017 ||
According to a report from China’s central government, production of steel and aluminium by producers in over two dozen cities will drop significantly over the winter months. The move is seen as another salvo in the ongoing battle against smog.
The document, which is a joint statement from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), Finance Ministry, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Bureau, in conjunction with local governments, carries a date of February 17, also includes plans to limit coal use in Beijing as well as pulling back on coal transport to northern China.
According to the document, steel producers in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Tianjin, and within the city of Beijing will be called upon to cut production in half during the peak heating months between November and February, inclusive. The amount of steel capacity to be curtailed is dependent upon the emission cuts to be made in the region, per the report.
The document details cuts in aluminium capacity by over thirty percent and alumina by nearly the same amount in those cities as well. Cuts in Hebei, Henan, and Shandong are particularly significant, as seventy percent of China’s total aluminium production is located in those three provinces.
The cuts would see China’s yearly steel output fall by 8 percent per annum and aluminium output lowered by 17 percent per year, according to calculations performed by Reuters, the news service that originated the story.
In addition to capacity cuts, the transportation of coal will be limited to railroad in Hebei and Tianjin, eliminating trucks as a method for transport starting in September. As the lion’s share of aluminium production in China is powered by coal-fired power plants, the implication for aluminium production is obvious.
China has long been battling smog, and this winter’s air quality has proven to be the worst in decades. Heavy industry, coal burning for heat in private homes, and increased transportation has taken a toll on air quality in cities like Beijing, which finds itself engulfed in even worse levels of smog than normal.
| From Aluminium Insider | March 01, 2017 ||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
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Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242