Ai Group Australian Industry Index - October 2024

Key findings

• The Australian Industry Index® fell in October, pointing towards a broadening of the challenging business conditions in industry.
• All industrial activity indicators fell in the month, with employment - recently the strongest - continuing to decline in trend terms.
• The input price indicator eased to its lowest level since 2020, consistent with lowering of inflationary pressures.
• The sales price indicator turned negative, indicating that more businesses were cutting than lifting sales prices.
• The manufacturing indicator (PMI) improved, but construction (PCI) showed its lowest monthly reading since the pandemic.
• Capacity utilisation continued dropped to 74.3% on the back of weak activity and employment results.

The Ai Group Australian Industry Index® declined in October 2024, losing 10.1 points to -28.8 points (seasonally adjusted). The index has indicated contraction for the last thirty months.