Manawatu Business Sector Positive

1 February 2017

Manawatu Business Sector Positive

Palmerston North and Manawatu businesses are more confident about their business and the regional economy than their counterparts throughout New Zealand.

This comes as Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA) releases the results of its foundation research project that was carried out by UMR Research. The research took a more in-depth look at Palmerston North and Manawatu’s competitive advantages and opportunities for economic growth, barriers and ways to overcome them, and perceptions of the region.
“The research provides a pulse of the local economy, and it’s pleasingly positive. We have a strong base from which we can build,” says CEDA Chair, Malcolm Bailey.

The research results compare favourably when compared with the nationwide ANZ Business Outlook survey[1]:
A net 35% of businesses expect the regional economy to do well over the next 1-2 years, compared to 21% nationally
A net 42% of local businesses expect better activity in their own business over the next 1-2 years, compared to 38% nationally
A net 27% of businesses are intending to act on their confidence by investing in their business compared to the national tally of 19%.

CEDA CEO Will Samuel says the UMR research highlights the region’s competitive advantages are in our research, innovation and education capabilities, high-quality productive agrifood sector, and our central location. 91% of respondents said Manawatu is a great place to raise a family.

Local businesses see the top opportunities for growth in the following sectors:
Agriculture, technology, science and research hub
Distribution and logistics
Central Government sector including education and training and defence

Mr Samuel says there is clearly a strong foundation in local businesses. CEDA believes engaging and partnering with the Manawatu business community is key to realising the growth potential. But there are some roadblocks.

“The most critical barrier to businesses is a lack of suitably skilled staff. This is a common challenge in other regional centres too. Dealing with bureaucracy, both central and local government, is another barrier that businesses have identified. Survey respondents also want to see a unified voice strengthening the Manawatu brand.”

Editor’s Notes

Research: Commissioned by CEDA, the research was undertaken by UMR Research, and involved 430 Palmerston North and Manawatū businesses and organisations.

37 in-depth interviews of chief executives, business owners and managers were held along with 10 focus group interviews. Following this, 350 randomly selected business telephone surveys were conducted.

The survey has a margin of error of + or – 5.2% and is weighted to match Statistics New Zealand business demographics for the region by sector and territorial authority.

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1. The ANZ Business Outlook is a national business survey, available at http://www.anz.co.nz/about-us/economic-markets-research/business-outlook/ -November 2016. While the questions in the CEDA survey are not the same, some can be compared for illustrative purposes with care.

CEDA_UMR_Business_Research_Summary_Report_January_2017.pdf

CEDA_Infographic_for_UMR_Research_.pdf

CEDA_UMR_Business_Research_Full_Report_December_2016.pdf

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