Gross Domestic Product: March 2015 quarter
Embargoed until 10:45am – 18 June 2015

Key facts
Economic activity, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), grew 0.2 percent in the March
2015 quarter.
The main movements by industry were:
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agriculture was down 2.3 percent, due to lower milk production
mining was down 7.8 percent, due to decreased exploration activity, and oil and gas extraction
business services was up 2.1 percent, due to scientific, architectural and engineering, and
veterinary services
retail trade and accommodation was up 2.4 percent, as overseas tourist spending increased
transport, postal, and warehousing was up 2.5 percent, due to international air transport.

Expenditure on gross domestic product (GDE) grew 0.1 percent in the March 2015 quarter.
The main movements in GDE were:
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household consumption expenditure was up 0.7 percent, due to increased spending on durable
goods
exports of goods and services were up 1.5 percent, and imports of goods and services were up
1.0 percent
inventories built up $106 million, due to agriculture and forestry inventories
investment in fixed assets was down 1.9 percent, due to decreases in machinery and equipment,
and intangibles. This was partly offset by an increase in construction investment.

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Liz MacPherson, Government Statistician
ISSN 1178-0290
18 June 2015

Commentary
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New Zealand economy grows 0.2 percent
Expenditure on GDP up 0.1 percent
Primary industries feeling the pinch
Services grow during quarter that included Cricket World Cup and Chinese New Year
Arts and recreation boosted by gambling and sports
Air travel helps transport fly high
Information media and telecommunications falls
RGNDI up 1.1 percent

New Zealand economy grows 0.2 percent
Gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.2 percent in the March 2015 quarter. This follows a
revised 0.7 percent rise in the December 2014 quarter.
The main movements by industry were:


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
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agriculture was down 2.3 percent, due to lower milk production
mining was down 7.8 percent, due to decreased exploration activity, and oil and gas
extraction
business services was up 2.1 percent, due to scientific, architectural and engineering,
and veterinary services
retail trade and accommodation was up 2.4 percent, as overseas tourist spending
increased
transport, postal, and warehousing was up 2.5 percent, due to international air transport.

3

 Expenditure on GDP up 0.1 percent
The expenditure measure of GDP rose 0.1 percent in the March 2015 quarter, following a
revised 1.2 percent increase in the December 2014 quarter.
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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household consumption expenditure was up 0.7 percent, due to increased spending on
durable goods
exports of goods and services were up 1.5 percent, and imports of goods and services
were up 1.0 percent
inventories built up $106 million, due to agriculture and forestry inventories
investment in fixed assets was down 1.9 percent, due to decreases in machinery and
equipment, and intangibles. This was partly offset by increases in construction
investment.

4

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

Primary industries feeling the pinch
Activity in the primary industries was down 2.9 percent in the March 2015 quarter. This was
largely due to decreases in mining (down 7.8 percent) and agriculture (down 2.3 percent). This is
the largest decline in primary industries since September 2010.
The fall in mining was driven by a decline in oil exploration activity and oil and gas extraction.
This is the biggest decline in mining activity since September 2013.

5

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

The decline in agriculture was due to lower dairy production, driven by drought conditions. Food,
beverage, and tobacco manufacturing was down 1.6 percent, and exports of dairy products fell
1.0 percent. Sheep and beef farming was flat, with decreases in sheep and lambs offset by an
increase in wool.

6

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

Forestry was down 1.2 percent this quarter, after an increase in the December 2014 quarter.
Exports of forestry primary products also decreased, by 16.8 percent.

Services grow during quarter that included Cricket World Cup and
Chinese New Year
Retail trade and accommodation increased 2.4 percent in the March 2015 quarter. Possible
contributors include the 2015 Cricket World Cup and more visitors during Chinese New Year
than in the past. Tourist spending in New Zealand also increased, by 2.3 percent.

7

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

International Travel and Migration: March 2015 revealed that visitor arrivals to New Zealand
(short term) were also up strongly in the March 2015 quarter compared March 2014. Particularly,
the number of Chinese visitors has increased.
On an annual basis, retail trade and accommodation grew 6.1 percent. Looking at the lower
level, the 8.0 percent annual increase in accommodation is the biggest since September 1995.
The 5.1 percent annual increase in retail trade is the largest since September 2012.

Arts and recreation boosted by gambling and sports
Arts, recreation, and other services increased 2.4 percent in the March 2015 quarter. The
increase was driven by higher activity in gambling, and sports and recreation services. This
industry also includes heritage and artistic activities (such as museums), which increased too.
This is the strongest quarterly growth since December 2012 for both arts and recreation services
(up 5.9 percent) and other services (up 2.1 percent). 'Other services' includes personal care,
funeral and other personal services, and religious services.

Air travel helps transport fly high
Transport, postal, and warehousing increased 2.5 percent in the March 2015 quarter. The
increase was driven by air transport and transport support services, as international air travel
increased. This is the biggest increase in transport, postal, and warehousing since September
2010. Partly offsetting the increase was a fall in road transport.

8

 Information media and telecommunications falls
Information media and telecommunications decreased 2.8 percent in the March 2015 quarter.
This decrease was driven by broadcasting and Internet publishing, and motion picture and sound
recording activities.
Telecommunications now has a seasonal pattern, so it will now be seasonally adjusted from the
Gross Domestic Product: September 2015 release onwards. If this series was seasonally
adjusted this quarter it would have shown flat movement. See the data quality section for more
details.

RGNDI up 1.1 percent
Real gross national disposable income (RGNDI), which measures the real purchasing power of
New Zealand's disposable income, was up 1.1 percent in the March 2015 quarter, following a
revised 0.6 percent decrease in December 2014. The increase in the terms of trade was the
reason RGNDI grew faster than GDP this quarter. Overseas Trade Indexes (Prices and
Volumes): March 2015 quarter reported a 1.5 percent increase in the merchandise terms of
trade, due to import prices falling more than export prices. For more about RGNDI, see
definitions.

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

For more detailed data see the Excel tables in the 'Downloads' box.

9

 Definitions
About gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is New Zealand's official measure of economic growth.
Three different approaches can be taken to calculate GDP – the production approach, the
expenditure approach, and the income approach. We use the production and expenditure
approaches to calculate New Zealand's GDP on a quarterly basis. The production approach is
available on a chain-volume basis, while the expenditure approach is on a chain-volume basis
and in current prices. Chain-volume estimates have the effect of price change (inflation) removed
from them.
The production approach to GDP measures the total value of goods and services produced in
New Zealand, after deducting the cost of goods and services used in the production process.
This is also known as the value-added approach.
The expenditure approach to GDP (also known as gross domestic expenditure or GDE)
measures the final purchases of goods and services produced in the New Zealand domestic
territory. Exports are added to domestic consumption, as they represent goods and services
produced in New Zealand, while imports are subtracted. Imports represent goods and services
produced by other economies.
Conceptually, both the production-based and expenditure-based GDP series measure economic
growth, so should produce the same growth rates. However, as each series uses independent
data and estimation techniques, some differences between the alternative measures arise. The
expenditure-based series has historically shown more quarterly volatility and is more likely to be
subject to timing and valuation problems. For these reasons, we prefer the production-based
measure for quarter-on-quarter and annual changes.

More definitions
Broad industry groups: in tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 25, and 26, we combine industry groups to form the
following broad groupings, based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial
Classification 2006 (ANZSIC06):
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primary industries (agriculture, forestry, and fishing; mining)
goods-producing industries (manufacturing; electricity, gas, water, and waste services;
construction)
service industries (wholesale trade; retail, accommodation, and restaurants; transport,
storage, and warehousing; finance and insurance services; rental, hiring, and real estate
services; professional, scientific, technical, administration, and support services; public
administration and safety; education and training; health care and social assistance; arts,
recreation, and other services).

As well as these industrial groupings, there is an 'unallocated' category. This category includes
taxes on production and imports (import duties, GST, and stamp duties) that are not allocated to
industries.

10

 Business investment: measures the investment of producers in land improvements; nonresidential building; other construction; transport equipment; plant, machinery, and equipment;
and intangibles (mining exploration and computer software).
Chain-volume series expressed in 2009/10 prices: are best described as annually reweighted,
chained Laspeyres volume indexes. Series are expressed in 2009/10 dollars rather than as index
numbers, since this has the advantage of showing the relative size of each component. Volume
series were first expressed in 2009/10 prices in Gross Domestic Product: September 2014
quarter. Previously, we used 1995/96 prices.
See data quality for more information on chain-volume series under 'Constructing a chainvolume series'.
Change in inventories: is change in the value of inventories of raw materials, work-in-progress,
and finished goods, over a given period. The change is measured in the appropriate prices in the
market at the time additions and withdrawals are made. The correct valuation of the change in
inventories requires continually updated data on the quantities of individual commodities held in
stock, together with appropriate prices. As this data is rarely available, our usual practice is to
revalue stocks at the end of the period. This is the best estimate of the physical change in stocks
during a given period.
Durable goods: are goods that are not consumed in one use (eg appliances and electronic
goods).
Gross fixed capital formation: producers' outlay on durable fixed assets, such as buildings,
motor vehicles, plant and machinery, hydro-electric construction, roading, and improvements to
land. 'Gross' indicates that consumption of fixed capital is not deducted from the value of the
outlays.
Gross national disposable income (GNDI): is the income received (less income payable) by
New Zealand residents, from both domestic and overseas sources, after taking account of
income redistribution by way of international transfers, or gross national income plus
net international transfers.
Household consumption expenditure (HCE): is an estimate of total expenditure by New
Zealand resident households. It includes expenditure by New Zealand households overseas but
does not include expenditure by overseas tourists in New Zealand.
Implicit price deflators: tables 23 and 24 contain implicit price deflators (IPDs) for expenditure
on GDP and its components. IPDs provide a broad measure of price change for total economic
activity and each of the expenditure components.
Low-value imports: are imports of goods purchased directly by New Zealand households
that have a value of less than $1,000. We estimate these separately as they are not captured in
the administrative data used to measure imports of goods.
Non-durable goods: are goods that are either consumed immediately in one use or within three
years.
Real gross national disposable income (RGNDI): measures the real purchasing power of
national disposable income, taking into account changes in the terms of trade, and real gains or
losses from net investment and transfer income with the rest of the world. Effectively, it is a
measure of the volume of goods and services New Zealand residents have command over.

11

 See data quality for more information on calculating RGNDI under 'Calculating real gross
national disposable income'.
Services: are products other than tangible goods. Services result from production activity that
changes the conditions of the consuming units, or makes the exchange of products or financial
assets possible.
Value added: is the value created by a process of production. Value added equals output minus
intermediate consumption.

12

 Related links
Next release
Gross Domestic Product: June 2015 quarter will be released on 17 September 2015.
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 2012 are used
to reconcile the quarterly production measure of GDP.
Benchmarks from National Accounts (Income and Expenditure): Year ended March 2014 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.

13

 Data quality
Period-specific information
This section contains information that has changed since the last release.
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Reference period
Seasonal adjustment for food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing
Seasonality in telecommunications

General information
This section contains information that does not change between releases.
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Data source
Incorporating annual data
System of National Accounts
Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006
Constructing a chain-volume series
Revisions resulting from chain-linking
Calculating real gross national disposable income
Per capita measures
Calculating implicit price deflators
Revisions policy
Interpreting the data
Confidentiality and accessing the data
More information

Period-specific information
Reference period
We collected information for this release for the period January–March 2015.

Seasonal adjustment for food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing
In the Gross Domestic Product: December 2014 quarter release, there were revisions to
seasonally adjusted food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing for the whole time series. We
have investigated the seasonal adjustment model we use, and compared to other seasonal
adjustment models to review which model is most appropriate for this series.
Following the investigation, we have decided to continue with the current seasonal adjustment
model, as it is the most appropriate for the food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing series.
We will continue to monitor and review the seasonal adjustment of this series.

Seasonality in telecommunications
We have reviewed the seasonality of the telecommunications industry and household spending
on telecommunications, and found that they can now both be seasonally adjusted. Previously we
had reviewed these series, but decided not to seasonally adjust them at the time as they did not
have a robust seasonal pattern.

14

 We are planning to introduce seasonal adjustment for these series in Gross Domestic Product:
September 2015 quarter, which will be published on 17 December 2015.
Note that in addition to the series mentioned above, total household spending will also be revised
as it is indirectly seasonally adjusted. Implementing the changes in December 2015 means we
make them at the same time as incorporating the new industry benchmarks, to avoid revising
time series twice.
Seasonally adjusting telecommunications industry and household spending on
telecommunications will not affect GDP at the total level, as GDP is directly seasonally adjusted.

General information
Data source
Quarterly gross domestic product: Sources and methods (fourth edition) presents the sources
and methods we use in compiling quarterly GDP.

Incorporating annual data
National Accounts (Industry Benchmarks): Year ended March 2012 and National Accounts
(Income and Expenditure): Year ended March 2014 were released on 21 November 2014. As
annual data has a wider range of data sources, it is more complete. We reconciled the quarterly
estimates of industries in GDP and the components of gross domestic expenditure (GDE) to
annual estimates to ensure we show the most robust picture of economic activity.
We incorporated annual benchmarks for the production measure of GDP up to the year ended
March 2012, and to the year ended March 2014 for GDE.

System of National Accounts
The conceptual framework we use to compile New Zealand's national accounts and GDP is
based on the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008SNA). The 2008SNA is jointly published
by the United Nations, the Commission of the European Communities, the International
Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World
Bank.
The 2008SNA was first introduced into New Zealand accounts at the end of 2014.
See Preview of 2014 national accounts improvements for more information about implementing
2008SNA.
Gross Domestic Product: June 2014 quarter was the last GDP release to use the 1993 version of
the System of National Accounts.

Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006
The production measure of GDP is presented by industry. The industry classification we use for
GDP is the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006 (ANZSIC06).
See ANZSIC 2006 – industry classification for more information about implementing ANZSIC06.

15

 Constructing a chain-volume series
We construct the chain-volume measures of GDP and GDE by:
(a) compiling a Laspeyres volume index of the component in question, using the previous year's
prices as weights; then
(b) chaining the sequence of annual movements to produce a continuous time series.
This procedure is used at different levels within the accounts. For example, we compile GDP by
weighting together the individual industry value-added components to produce a Laspeyres
volume index for each quarter, and then linking the resulting indexes to produce the GDP time
series. Each industry component, such as transport, postal, and warehousing, is also a chainedvolume series. At the lowest level, the 'elemental series' are not chained and are either single
series in their own right or fixed-weight series comprising many components. Chaining is not
adopted, either because the details needed for annual weights are not available, or relative price
changes are not significant.
The base year for fixed-weight series was updated from 1995/96 to 2009/10 in Gross Domestic
Product: September 2014.
Note that chain-volume series are not additive (ie the chain-volume series for an aggregate will
not equal the sum of the values of its components).
See Chain volume measures in national accounts for a full explanation of the concepts and
procedures used to compile chain-volume series.

Revisions resulting from chain-linking
One of the key benefits of adopting chain-volume measures in place of fixed-weight series is that
the relative weights of the component series are more up-to-date. This reduces the likelihood of
introducing biases in the volume measures, which would otherwise become progressively
unrepresentative as relative prices change. The disadvantage is that the annual reweighting
introduces another cause for revision.
Reweighting is part of our annual revisions cycle and is usually timed to coincide with introducing
other new annual data from the current price GDP accounts. See 'Incorporating annual
data' above.
The current price annual accounts provide the detailed component series needed for weighting
the production-based series of GDP. There is usually a two-year time lag before these detailed
series are available. The latest year for which up-to-date weights were used for the productionbased series is for the year ended 31 March 2012; all subsequent quarters use these weights.
Current price data for GDE components are more timely. As a result, the latest year for which we
use up-to-date weights for the GDE series is for the year ended 31 March 2014. All subsequent
quarters use these weights.
When the weights are updated, this procedure results in revisions to all periods beyond the latest
year for which detailed series are available (currently 2011/12 for the production-based measure
and 2013/14 for the expenditure-based measure).

16

 Calculating real gross national disposable income
We calculate RGNDI as follows:
chain-volume measure of gross domestic product (production-based measure)
plus a terms of trade effect (trading gain/loss)
equals real gross domestic income
plus real value of total net investment income
equals real gross national income
plus real value of total net transfers
equals real gross national disposable income
where the terms of trade effect is defined as:
current price exports deflated by an imports implicit price index
less chain-volume measure of exports
and the real value of total net investment income equals:
investment income credits
less investment income debits
all deflated by an imports implicit price index
and the real value of total net transfers equals:
transfers credits
less transfers debits
all deflated by an imports implicit price index.

Per capita measures
A per capita measure is simply the series in question divided by the projected population of New
Zealand. From the March 1991 quarter onwards, we use the 'estimated resident population of
New Zealand'. This is defined as New Zealand residents currently in New Zealand plus those
temporarily overseas. We exclude overseas tourists visiting New Zealand.

Calculating implicit price deflators
We calculate implicit price deflators (IPDs) by dividing the seasonally adjusted current price
quarterly series by the equivalent chain-volume series. This provides a broad estimate of price
change between the base period and any other period. Significant compositional changes may
result in the IPDs being a less precise estimate of price change. This problem is more likely to
occur in the gross national expenditure and expenditure on GDP aggregates. This is because
both measures include the change in inventories item, which is highly subject to compositional
changes, including a change in sign.

17

 Revisions policy
We may revise previously published series each quarter. The frequency and cause of these
revisions are listed below.
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Quarterly – more data becoming available for the latest quarters, which is used to
replace existing estimates. Revisions to quarterly data (eg revisions to BoP or the Retail
Trade Survey), which we incorporate as soon as possible to maintain consistency
between published macroeconomic statistics.
Annual – introduction of annual data after the release of the latest annual national
accounts; annual updating of the weights used to link component series to totals and
subsequent chaining (see 'Revisions resulting from chain-linking' above).
Irregular – for example, methodological changes. Note that as far as possible, we
incorporate revisions of this nature to coincide with the annual cycle of revisions outlined
above, or discuss them in a separate paper ahead of the changes.

Each of the above causes for revision, and/or the addition of a new point in the actual quarterly
series, can alter seasonal factors and may lead to a revision in the seasonally adjusted series.

Interpreting the data
Annual percentage changes
When using annual percentage changes, our customers should take care to ensure the
measures used are correctly understood. Annual measures are calculated by summing the
actual series for a four-quarter period. Unless otherwise stated, the annual percentage change is
the most recent four-quarter period compared with the previous four-quarter period.
Direct and indirect seasonal adjustment
The level at which a series is seasonally adjusted is important, since it has the potential to
affect the series' quality. The individual component series of the main economic variables can be
seasonally adjusted and then summed to derive totals. This is called an indirect seasonal
adjustment. Alternatively, the main economic variables can be seasonally adjusted at the total
level, independently of the seasonal adjustment of their components. The adjustment of the total
of an aggregate series is called a direct seasonal adjustment. The indirect approach has the
advantage of retaining additivity, but this applies only to the current price series. While the
indirect approach conceptually also provides additivity for volume series, additivity is lost by
chain-linking.
The direct approach will often give better results if the component series show similar seasonal
patterns. At the most detailed level, the irregular factor may be large compared with the seasonal
factor and therefore may make it difficult to perform a proper seasonal adjustment. In a small
country like New Zealand, irregular events can have a strong impact on particular data. However,
if the component series show the same seasonal pattern, aggregation often reduces the effect of
the irregular factors in the component series. This is relevant for New Zealand, where seasonal
fluctuations in the primary industries affect economic series.
We analysed both direct and indirect approaches for the two quarterly GDP aggregates,
the production and expenditure on GDP. We prefer to use the direct approach because the
resulting series are smoother and more stable.

18

 The residual between the seasonally adjusted components and the aggregates is referred to as
the balancing item. The balancing item will often show significant seasonal variations. This
is expected, as it captures the undetected seasonality in the component series.
Note: The level at which seasonal adjustment is applied to quarterly GDP series may differ from
other Statistics NZ surveys (eg the Economic Survey of Manufacturing and the Wholesale Trade
Survey). These may contribute to differences in the aggregate seasonally adjusted series.
Explanation of the seasonally adjusted balancing item
Seasonal adjustment removes seasonal variation from a statistical series. By removing seasonal
effects from GDP, we can better understand the underlying economic activity. Examples of
seasonal variation in economic activity are milking and lambing seasons, Christmas shopping,
and peak periods for visitors to New Zealand.
The seasonal adjustment balancing item is the difference between directly seasonally adjusting
total GDP and seasonally adjusting each component of GDP and adding them together. Directly
seasonally adjusting total GDP is our preferred method. The seasonal adjustment balancing item
does not contribute to GDP and therefore should not be interpreted as an economic variable. It
should also not be interpreted as a margin of error for the headline measure of GDP, as over the
course of a year it balances out to zero.
We seasonally adjust quarterly GDP in line with international best practice.

Confidentiality and accessing the data
Data collected and information contained in this publication must conform to the provisions of the
Statistics Act 1975. This requires that published information maintains the confidentiality of
individual respondents.

More information
See more information about the quarterly gross domestic product.
Statistics in this release have been produced in accordance with the Official Statistics System
principles and protocols for producers of Tier 1 statistics for quality. They conform to the
Statistics NZ Methodological Standard for Reporting of Data Quality.

Liability
While all care and diligence has been used in processing, analysing, and extracting data and
information in this publication, Statistics NZ gives no warranty it is error-free and will not be liable
for any loss or damage suffered by the use directly, or indirectly, of the information in this
publication.

Timing
Our information releases are delivered electronically by third parties. Delivery may be delayed by
circumstances outside our control. Statistics NZ does not accept responsibility for any such
delay.

19

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20

 Revisions
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Financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Revisions to GDP
Revisions to expenditure on GDP
Revisions table

We incorporated several revisions into GDP for the March 2015 quarter. Details of these
revisions are discussed below.
In addition to the revisions listed below, revisions have been caused by a new complete March
year of data being used for calculating chain-volume measures. These revisions affect all
industries in the production measure of GDP, and all components of the expenditure measure of
GDP. The revisions are particularly noticeable in the chain-volume measures of exports and
imports.

Financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Updated input data for financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) have
resulted in revisions to financial and insurance services in the production measure of GDP, and
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.

Revisions to GDP
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Agriculture was revised due to the incorporation of new benchmarks from the Agriculture
Production Survey Statistics: June 2014 (final) release and updated input data.
Manufacturing was revised due to updated source data as well as revisions incorporated
in the Economic Survey of Manufacturing: March 2015 quarter release. The revisions
affect the series in the December 2014 quarter.
Construction was revised due to methodological change incorporated in the Value of
Building Work Put in Place: March 2015 quarter (corrected) release. The revisions affect
the series in the September and December 2014 quarters.
Retail trade and accommodation was revised due to revisions incorporated in the Retail
Trade Survey: March 2015 quarter release. The revisions affect the series in the March
2014 quarter.
Updated source data for the December 2014 quarter resulted in revisions in agriculture,
forestry, and fishing; mining; electricity, gas, water, and waste services; transport, postal,
and warehousing; information media and telecommunications; financial and insurance
services; and rental, hiring, and real estate services.

Revisions to expenditure on GDP
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Household consumption expenditure was revised due to updated Retail Trade Survey
data for the March 2014 quarter, and updated data for electricity, communications
services, gambling services, insurance services, and fringe benefits.
Central government was revised due to updated health expenditure data.
Local government was revised due to updated data from the Local Authority Statistics.
Gross fixed capital formation was revised due to methodological change incorporated in
the Value of Building Work Put in Place: March 2015 quarter (corrected), corrected

21

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system issues for plant, machinery, and equipment and other construction, updated data
for transfer costs, updated overseas trade data, and revised tax data.
Inventories was revised due to updated annual benchmarks from Agriculture Production
Survey Statistics: June 2014 (final), updated data from Economic Survey of
Manufacturing: March 2015 quarter, and updated data from Retail Trade Survey: March
2015 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 2015 quarter GDP and expenditure on GDP (GDE).
Quarter

March 2009
June 2009
September 2009
December 2009
March 2010
June 2010
September 2010
December 2010
March 2011
June 2011
September 2011
December 2011
March 2012
June 2012
September 2012
December 2012
March 2013
June 2013
September 2013
December 2013
March 2014
June 2014
September 2014
December 2014

GDP
GDE
Percentage change from previous quarter
Previously
Previously
Revised
Revised
published
published
-1.2
-1.2
-0.6
-0.6
0.1
0.1
1.3
1.3
0.4
0.4
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.0
1.3
1.3
0.2
0.2
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.4
0.4
-0.5
-0.5
-1.6
-1.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.6
-0.7
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.2
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.8
1.0
1.0
0.4
0.4
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.8
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.9
0.9
0.3
0.3
0.8
0.8
1.2
1.2
1.0
0.9
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
0.5
0.5
0.2
0.2
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.4
0.7
0.7
0.3
0.2
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.4
0.8
0.7
1.1
1.2

22

 Contacts
For media enquiries contact:
Daniel Lensen
Wellington 04 931 4600
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
For technical information contact:
Sabrina Zheng or Matthew Collison
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)
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Email: info@stats.govt.nz
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23

 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.
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2
3
4
5
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7
8
9
10
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Gross domestic product by industry – March 2015 quarter
Expenditure on gross domestic product – March 2015 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 – year ended March 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.

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 2015 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 2015 quarter will be released on 17 September 2015.

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