Gross Domestic Product: March 2016 quarter
Embargoed until 10:45am – 16 June 2016

Key facts
Economic activity, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), grew 0.7 percent in the March
2016 quarter.
The main movements by industry were:
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construction was up 4.9 percent, due to growth in construction trade services, and heavy and civil
construction – all construction sub-industries increased
health care and residential care was up 2.7 percent – both private and public health care were up
manufacturing was down 0.4 percent, due to decreased food, beverage, and tobacco
manufacturing.

Expenditure on gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent in the March 2016 quarter.
The main movements in GDE were:
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investment in fixed assets was up 2.4 percent, due to increased investment in residential building
and other construction (including roading and telecommunication investment)
household consumption expenditure was up 0.4 percent – spending on services, durable goods,
and non-durable goods all increased
inventories built up $183 million, due to an increase in manufacturing inventories
exports of goods and services was down 1.0 percent, and imports of goods and services was up
0.2 percent.

See commentary for more detailed analysis.
See gross domestic product visualisation, an interactive tool showing quarterly changes in the production
of the different industries in New Zealand's economy.

 Size cfthe (GDP) billien

GDP

Heuseheld . .
spending $145 billien

Decreases GDP

 

Grass demestic piriciductm 
growth and annual growth

Percent
4.1]
3.1]
2.1]

1.1]

IllDuarterty growth ?Ann ual growth

1- Seasic-nalliiI adjusted chain-uclume series expressed in 2mm prices.
Source: Statistics Newzealarld

Carol Slappendel, Acting Government Statistician
ISSN 1178-0290
16 June 2016

Commentary
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New Zealand economy grows 0.7 percent
Expenditure on GDP up 0.5 percent
Continued growth in construction
Exports and agricultural products down
Growth in household spending supports service industries
Investment in fixed assets up
Real purchasing power of New Zealand's income up 2.2 percent
New Zealand growth ahead of most of our trade partners

New Zealand economy grows 0.7 percent
Gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.7 percent in the March 2016 quarter. This follows a 0.9
percent increase in the December 2015 quarter. Growth for the year ended March 2016 was 2.4
percent.
GDP per capita was up 0.1 percent in the March 2016 quarter, following a 0.3 percent increase
in the December 2015 quarter. GDP per capita for the year ended March 2016 increased 0.5
percent.

Note: Seasonally adjusted chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices.

The main movements by industry were:
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construction was up 4.9 percent, and all construction industries increased

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 
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health care and residential care was up 2.7 percent, due to increases in private and
public health care
retail trade and accommodation was up 1.3 percent, due to food and beverage services;
and furniture, electrical, and hardware retailing
business services was up 0.6 percent, due to computer system design and related
services; and advertising, market research, and management services
transport, postal, and warehousing was up 1.5 percent, due to transport support services
financial and insurance services was up 0.9 percent, due to banking and financing
mining was down 3.3 percent, driven by lower oil and gas extraction and coal mining.

Expenditure on GDP up 0.5 percent
The expenditure method of GDP rose 0.5 percent in the March 2016 quarter, following a revised
0.8 percent increase in the December 2015 quarter. See revisions section for more on the
revised December 2015 quarter number.
Note: The expenditure and production measures of GDP are conceptually the same, but use
different data sources, so can differ in practice. The production measure of GDP measures the
volume of goods and services produced in the economy, while the expenditure measure shows
how these goods and services were used. While the production-based and expenditure-based
measures are both official series, the production-based measure historically shows less volatility
and is the preferred series for the quarter-on-quarter changes.
The main movements in the expenditure measure of GDP this quarter were:
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investment in fixed assets was up 2.4 percent, due to other construction, such as roading
and telecommunications infrastructure; and residential building
exports of goods and services was down 1.0 percent, and imports of goods and services
was up 0.2 percent
inventories built up $183 million, due to increases in manufacturing inventories
household consumption expenditure was up 0.4 percent, due to expenditure on services.

4

 Note: Seasonally adjusted chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices.

Continued growth in construction
Construction was a key driver of GDP growth this quarter, up 4.9 percent, the highest quarterly
growth since March 2014. All construction industries grew this quarter, with construction trade
services and heavy and civil engineering as the main drivers.
Value of Building Work Put in Place: March 2016 quarter reported growth in the total value of
building activity across the North Island, with the value of residential building work in Auckland
exceeding $1 billion for the first time in the March 2016 quarter.
Strength in construction industries also reflected greater investment in construction, a key driver
for the increase in investment in fixed assets for the March 2016 quarter. Investment in
residential building increased 4.2 percent, non-residential building increased 4.4 percent, and
other construction increased 12 percent. Other construction, which covers investment in
infrastructure, grew due to increased investment in roading and telecommunications.

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 Note: Seasonally adjusted chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices.

Exports and agricultural products down
Exports of goods and services
Exports of goods and services decreased 1.0 percent in the March 2016 quarter. This was due to
a decrease of 3.5 percent in exports of goods, partly offset by an increase of 2.7 percent in
exports of services.
Decreases in dairy and meat exports were the main drivers of the decrease in exports of goods,
with exports of dairy products falling 8.9 percent and exports of meat products falling 13 percent.
Exports of coal, crude petroleum and ores, minerals and gases fell 39 percent, due to a drop in
exports of crude oil.

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 Note: Seasonally adjusted chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices.

Agriculture production
Agriculture production decreased 0.1 percent in the March 2016 quarter. This flat result reflects a
decrease in sheep and beef farming, offset by increased milk production.
The anticipated El Niño weather pattern was not as severe as expected. The normal seasonal
fall in milk production was less pronounced than usual, resulting in seasonally adjusted volumes
of milk produced increasing slightly. This is despite falling dairy prices. The associated increase
in dairy manufacturing alongside the decline in dairy exports is reflected in a build-up of dairy
inventories.
Concern for the El Niño weather pattern also led to early slaughter of livestock, especially for
sheep, in the December 2015 quarter, with a flow-on effect of a seasonal decline in sheep and
beef farming in the March 2016 quarter. This is reflected in an associated decline in both meat
product manufacturing and exports, with inventories of meat products down overall.

Growth in household spending supports service industries
Household consumption expenditure
Household consumption expenditure increased 0.4 percent in the March 2016 quarter, following
a 1.0 percent increase in the December 2015 quarter. The main movements this quarter were:
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services rose 0.7 percent, due to spending on culture and recreation (including
gambling).
durable goods rose 0.4 percent, due to spending on audio-visual equipment, and used
motor vehicles.

7

 

non-durable goods rose 0.2 percent, due to spending on grocery food, petrol, and
beverages.

Strong visitor arrivals saw tourist spending increase 4.9 percent in the March 2016 quarter,
following a 0.9 percent decrease in the December 2015 quarter. This increase in household and
tourist spending helped boost demand for related service industries.

Services
Service industries grew 0.8 percent in the March 2016 quarter, following a 0.8 percent growth in
the December 2015 quarter.
Health care and residential care was the main driver of the growth in service industries, with
activity increasing 2.7 percent – the highest quarterly growth since June 2005. Both public and
private health care were up this quarter off the back of higher demand for services from a
growing population.
Also significantly contributing to growth in service industries was a 1.3 percent increase in retail
trade and accommodation, due to food and beverage services; and furniture, electrical, and
hardware retailing.

Note: Seasonally adjusted chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices.

Investment in fixed assets up
Investment in fixed assets was up 2.4 percent in the March 2016 quarter, following a revised 2.2
percent decrease in the December 2015 quarter. The increase was primarily due to investment
in other construction, and residential building.

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 Investment in transport equipment was down 17 percent, due to reduced investment in air
transport equipment. The decrease follows a 12 percent decrease in the December 2015
quarter, and comes after a large increase of 29 percent in transport equipment in the September
2015 quarter. Current levels are still higher than for the June 2015 quarter.
Investment in intangible assets decreased 5.7 percent in the March 2016 quarter, due to a
decrease in purchases of software.
Imports of capital goods decreased 10 percent, following a 7.8 percent decrease in the
December 2015 quarter. This was primarily driven by a 42 percent decrease in transport
equipment imports.

Note: Seasonally adjusted chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices.

Real purchasing power of New Zealand's income up 2.2 percent
Real gross national disposable income (RGNDI), which measures the real purchasing power of
New Zealand’s disposable income, was up 2.2 percent in the March 2016 quarter. This follows a
revised 0.3 percent increase in the December 2015 quarter. RGNDI increased 2.0 percent for the
March 2016 year, compared with an increase in GDP of 2.4 percent over the same period.
The terms of trade increased over the March 2016 quarter, causing faster growth in RGNDI
compared with GDP. Overseas Trade Indexes (Prices and Volumes): March 2016 quarter
(provisional) reported a 4.4 percent increase in the merchandise terms of trade, due to import
prices for goods falling while export prices remained unchanged.
Terms of trade is the ratio of the price of exports to the price of imports. An improvement in the
terms of trade means that fewer exports are needed to pay for a given volume of imports. This

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 makes it possible for residents to purchase an increased volume of goods and services from the
incomes generated by a given level of domestic production.

Note: Actual chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices.

RGNDI per capita was up 1.6 percent in the March 2016 quarter, following a revised 0.2 percent
decrease in the December 2015 quarter. Over the March 2016 year, RGNDI per capita increased
0.3 percent compared with the December 2015 year. This shows that New Zealand’s real
purchasing power increased more than New Zealand’s population.

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 See RGNDI for more about RGNDI.

New Zealand growth ahead of most of our trade partners
Percentage changes in GDP – international comparisons
Quarterly percentage change
Change from same quarter
Country
in GDP
previous year
New Zealand
0.7
2.8
Australia
1.1
3.1
Canada
0.6
1.1
Euro area (19
0.6
1.7
countries)
Japan
0.5
0.0
OECD
0.4
1.8
United Kingdom
0.4
2.0
United States
0.2
2.0
For more detailed data see the Excel tables in the 'Downloads' box.
See DataInfo+ for information on definitions and data quality. These sections were previously
included in this release.

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 Related links
Next release
Gross Domestic Product: June 2016 quarter will be released on 15 September 2016.
Subscribe to information releases, including this one, by completing the online subscription form.
The release calendar lists all information releases by date of release.

Related releases
Benchmarks from National Accounts (Industry Benchmarks): Year ended March 2013 are used
to reconcile the quarterly production measure of GDP.
Benchmarks from National Accounts (Income and Expenditure): Year ended March 2015 are
used to reconcile the quarterly expenditure measure of GDP.

Past releases
Gross Domestic Product – information releases has links to past releases.

Related information
National accounts provide an annual measure of economic aggregates in the New Zealand
economy.

Data quality
General information
National accounts quarterlies – DataInfo+
General methodology used to produce these statistics.
National accounts quarterlies – concepts – DataInfo+
Definitions of terms used in this release
Copyright and terms of use
Includes our copyright, attribution, and liability statements.

12

 Revisions
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Chain-linking
Financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Revisions to GDP
Revisions to expenditure on GDP
Revisions table

We incorporated several revisions in this release. The key revisions are discussed below.

Chain-linking
We made revisions because we now have data for the year ended March 2016. We use data for
March years to calculate chain-volume measures. The revisions affect all industries in the
production and expenditure measures of GDP. They are particularly noticeable in the chainvolume measures of exports and imports, and in the total expenditure measure of
GDP. See chain volume measures in National Accounts for more information.

Financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Updated input data for financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) resulted in
revisions to financial and insurance services in the production measure of GDP, and to
household consumption expenditure, private non-profit consumption expenditure, central and
local government final consumption expenditure, and exports and imports of services in the
expenditure measure of GDP.

Other revisions
In addition to the major changes listed above, we incorporated other revisions this quarter. These
are outlined below.

Revisions to GDP
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Public administration and safety was revised in the December 2015 quarter, when we
corrected a timing issue for New Zealand government salary and wage data.
Updated input data resulted in revisions to agriculture, forestry, and fishing; mining;
manufacturing; electricity, gas, water, and waste services; information media and
telecommunications; financial and insurance services; and rental, hiring, and real estate
services.

Revisions to expenditure on GDP
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

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Household consumption expenditure was revised due to updated data for
communications, and fringe benefits.
Central government was revised when we corrected an error. This revision affects the
series in the December 2015 quarter. There was also a revision in the December 2015
quarter when we corrected a timing issue for New Zealand government salary and wage
data.
Local government was revised due to updated data from the Local Authority Statistics:
March 2016 quarter – tables.

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Gross fixed capital formation was revised due to updated data for transfer costs, and
updated overseas trade data.
Inventories was revised due to updated agriculture and forestry data, and
updated Economic Survey of Manufacturing: March 2016 quarter.
Imports and exports were revised due to updated overseas merchandise trade data and
updated balance of payments data.

Revisions table
The following table shows the previously published and revised quarterly movements for
the March 2016 quarter GDP and expenditure on GDP (GDE).
Previously published and revised March 2016 quarterly movements
Quarter
GDP
GDE
Percentage change from previous quarter
Previously
Previously
Revised
Revised
published
published
March 2010
0.3
0.3
1.2
1.2
June 2010
0.7
0.7
0.4
0.4
September 2010
-0.3
-0.3
-1.4
-1.4
December 2010
-0.4
-0.4
-0.6
-0.6
March 2011
1.1
1.1
1.4
1.4
June 2011
0.7
0.7
0.9
0.9
September 2011
0.9
0.9
1.2
1.2
December 2011
0.6
0.6
1.0
1.0
March 2012
0.8
0.8
0.0
0.0
June 2012
0.3
0.3
1.0
1.0
September 2012
0.3
0.3
0.7
0.7
December 2012
1.4
1.4
0.7
0.7
March 2013
-0.1
-0.1
0.2
0.2
June 2013
0.8
0.8
-0.1
-0.1
September 2013
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
December 2013
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.3
March 2014
1.4
1.4
1.3
1.3
June 2014
0.9
0.9
0.4
0.5
September 2014
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.0
December 2014
0.9
0.9
1.1
1.1
March 2015
0.3
0.2
0.4
0.3
June 2015
0.3
0.3
0.7
0.6
September 2015
0.9
0.8
1.4
1.3
December 2015
0.9
0.9
1.1
0.8
Source: Statistics New Zealand

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 Contacts
For media enquiries contact:
Daniel Griffiths
Wellington 04 931 4600
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
For technical information contact:
Jane Ellis or Morgan Sissons
Wellington 04 931 4600
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
For general enquiries contact our Information Centre:
Phone: 0508 525 525 (toll free in New Zealand)
+64 4 931 4600 (outside New Zealand)
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
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 Tables
The following tables are available in Excel format from the ‘Downloads’ box. If you have
problems viewing the files, see opening files and PDFs.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Gross domestic product by industry – March 2016 quarter
Expenditure on gross domestic product – March 2016 quarter
Gross domestic product by industry – quarterly values
Gross domestic product by industry – quarterly percentage changes
Gross domestic product by industry – annual values
Gross domestic product by industry – annual percentage changes
Expenditure on gross domestic product – quarterly values
Expenditure on gross domestic product – quarterly percentage changes
Expenditure on gross domestic product – annual values
Expenditure on gross domestic product – annual percentage changes
Household consumption expenditure – quarterly values and percentage changes
Household consumption expenditure – annual values and percentage changes
Gross fixed capital formation – quarterly values and percentage changes
Gross fixed capital formation – annual values and percentage changes
Exports of goods and services – quarterly values and percentage changes
Imports of goods and services – quarterly values and percentage changes
Expenditure on gross domestic product current price – quarterly values
Expenditure on gross domestic product current price – quarterly percentage changes
Expenditure on gross domestic product current price – annual values
Expenditure on gross domestic product current price – annual percentage changes
Per capita measures – quarterly values and percentage changes
Per capita measures – annual values and percentage changes
Implicit price deflators – quarterly index values and percentage changes
Implicit price deflators – annual index values and percentage changes
Gross domestic product by industry – percentage changes from same quarter of previous
year
We have added machine-readable, zipped CSV files of the tables to the downloadable files, as a
trial. Use the feedback form below to send us feedback about them.1

Supplementary tables
These tables show a longer time series for expenditure on gross domestic product and gross
domestic product by industry than is included in the March 2016 quarter tables. See the
'Downloads' box.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Expenditure on gross domestic product – annual values
Expenditure on gross domestic product – annual percentage changes
Expenditure on gross domestic product components – quarterly values
Expenditure on gross domestic product components – quarterly percentage changes
Gross domestic product by industry – annual values
Gross domestic product by industry – annual percentage changes
Gross domestic product by industry – quarterly values
Gross domestic product by industry – quarterly percentage changes

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 Access more data on Infoshare
Use Infoshare to access time-series data specific to your needs. For this release, select the
following categories from the Infoshare homepage:
Subject category: Economic indicators
Group: National Accounts – SNA 2008 – SNE

Next release
Gross Domestic Product: June 2016 quarter will be released on 15 September 2016.

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