The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) ended the financial year on a high note, down just 0.1 point to 57.4 to record a 21st month of continuous expansion.

"Manufacturing production, employment, exports and sales were all higher in June, driving the Australian PMI to its longest run of expansion in well over a decade,” said Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox.

“Growth was evident across the manufacturing sector including in the large food and beverages, metal products and machinery and equipment sub-sectors even though the drought conditions in some parts of the country are flowing along supply chains into these sub-sectors.

“With new orders continuing to come in at growing levels, the immediate outlook is for further growth in production and employment. As to the longer term, manufacturers, particularly those in more energy intensive segments of the sector, remain concerned about ongoing uncertainty over energy policy and its dampening impact on the investment needed to ease price pressures,” said Willox.

The current run of expanding or stable conditions (21 months) for the Australian PMI is the longest since 2005, with the longest positive run being 50 continuous months from July 2001 to July 2005.

The PMI is a national composite index calculated from a weighted mix of the diffusion indices for production, new orders, deliveries, inventories and employment, and commenced in 1992.