The Australian Industry Index continued to signal weakness in June, declining to negative 30 in seasonally adjusted terms, indicating a broad slowdown across industrial sectors, according to a report released by the Australian Industry Group on Wednesday.
The activity, employment, and new orders indicators fell to some of their lowest levels recorded outside the pandemic, the report said.
The activity and sales indicator declined to negative 42.4 in June, showing low activity, consumer behavior uncertainty, and customer order delays, while the employment indicator edged down further, remaining in contraction at negative 15.5, with skilled staff shortages, rising wage costs, and staff availability challenges.
New orders decreased by 5.1 points to negative 41, while input volumes increased by 3.3 to negative 6.9 and have remained flat over the past year.
Meanwhile, pricing indicators continued to trend upward in June, with the largest 61.3 point gap recorded between input costs and sales prices, indicating the highest level of pressure on profit margins in the series.
The impact of the energy crisis on industry showed signs of easing in June, with moderating fuel prices, but negative effects on business operations remain prevalent.
The Australian PMI (manufacturing) rose 4.5 points to negative 16.8, while the Australian PCI (construction) fell 26.9 points to negative 38.1, per the report.