According to the Business NZ Survey published on late Thursday evening, the Business NZ performance of manufacturing index (PMI) for New Zealand declined to 54.7 in March from 55.9 in February. It was the lowest level since October 2015.

February's figure was revised down from 56.0.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector.

The decline was driven by drops in all sub-indexes.

"While a number of negative comments mentioned a slowdown in both domestic and offshore orders, it is still important to remember that two-thirds of comments from manufacturers remain positive, not to mention that the sector is still in expansion mode," Business NZ's executive director for manufacturing, Catherine Beard, said.