A seven-year high in sales volumes for transport equipment and machinery manufacturing helped boost the total volume of manufacturing in the March 2018 quarter, Stats NZ said today. The total volume of manufacturing sales rose 1.4 percent in the March 2018 quarter compared with the December 2017 quarter, when adjusted for seasonal effects. This follows a 1.5 percent rise in the December 2017 quarter. Nine of the 13 manufacturing industries had sales rises in the March 2018 quarter. The largest movements were transport equipment and machinery manufacturing, up 6.0 percent, and meat and dairy product manufacturing, up ... (full story)