Taranaki Business Survey
RESULTS OF THE DECEMBER 2017 SURVEY
Taranaki Business Survey • Monitors economic confidence by Taranaki businesses and their views on key business issues. • Undertaken by Venture Taranaki 6-monthly since 1999. • Survey sent to over 1500 Taranaki businesses. • Cross section of industry type, location and size. • Spans a number of standard economic questions. • Plus a special topic: Taranaki – a high-tech region
NZ Economic Conditions: next 12 months New Zealand Economy - next 12 months Improve
Remain the same
Deterioriate
Unsure
Nov 2017 Significant fall in business confidence
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Nov-17
Jul-17
Mar-17
Jul-16
Nov-16
Mar-16
Nov-15
Jul-15
Mar-15
Nov-14
Jul-14
Mar-14
Nov-13
Jul-13
Mar-13
Nov-12
Jul-12
Mar-12
Nov-11
Jul-11
Mar-11
Nov-10
Jul-10
Mar-10
Nov-09
Jul-09
Mar-09
Nov-08
Jul-08
Mar-08
Nov-07
0%
• Same: 53% (up from 51%) • Improve 21% (down from 42%) • Deteriorate – 20% (was 5%) • Don’t know: 5%
Industry conditions: next 12 months Industry conditions - next 12 months Improve
Deterioriate
Stay the Same
Unsure
70%
60%
Confidence in industry outlook also declines
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Jul-17
Nov-17
Mar-17
Nov-16
Jul-16
Mar-16
Nov-15
Jul-15
Mar-15
Nov-14
Jul-14
Mar-14
Nov-13
Jul-13
Mar-13
Nov-12
Jul-12
Mar-12
Nov-11
Jul-11
Mar-11
Nov-10
Jul-10
Mar-10
Nov-09
Jul-09
Mar-09
Nov-08
Jul-08
Mar-08
Nov-07
0%
• Remain same 49% (down from 51%) • Improve 30% (down from 45%) • Deteriorate 16% (was 6%) • Don’t know: 5%
Sales: next 6 months Sales outlook - next 6 months Improve
Remain The Same
Deterioriate
Unsure
70%
Stability and positivity injected by uncertainty and pessimism
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Nov-17
Jul-17
Mar-17
Nov-16
Jul-16
Mar-16
Nov-15
Jul-15
Mar-15
Nov-14
Jul-14
Mar-14
Nov-13
Jul-13
Mar-13
Nov-12
Jul-12
Mar-12
Nov-11
Jul-11
Mar-11
Nov-10
Jul-10
Mar-10
Nov-09
Jul-09
Mar-09
Nov-08
Jul-08
Mar-08
Nov-07
0%
• Improve: 45% (was 51% last time) • Remain same: 42% (the same) • Deteriorate: 9% (up from 6%) • Don’t know: 4%
Taranaki business: concerns High concern
Factors Impacting growth November 2017 2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
Low concern
0
What’s changed? What's changed since June 2017? Dec 2017 2.5
June 2017
Cost of staff/wages
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Other cost items Interest rates Exchange rates
Factors
impacting on business • Government Change – uncertainty and implications – “Concern around changes the Government plans to implement and what this will mean for business” – “Change in government and associated policies are increasing the demand for our services” – “Proposed water tax which is now off the cards but who knows what will happen”
Other factors
impacting on business • Minimum Wage – “The increasing cost of the minimum wage” – “uncertainty for SME’s re: accelerated increasing min wage and no govt info on assistance to help mitigate” • “Milk payout”
• “internet shopping” – “Parallel importing and private purchases from international web-based retail outlets”
• “Digital disruption/pace of change”
Employee numbers – next 6 months Employee numbers - next 6 months Improve
Remain the Same
Deterioriate
Unsure
90%
Holding
80%
70%
69% anticipate employment levels to remain the same.
60%
50%
40%
22% - increase. 30%
outweighs ‌.
20%
10%
Dec-17
Jun-17
Dec-16
Jun-16
Dec-15
Jun-15
Dec-14
Jun-14
Dec-13
Jun-13
Dec-12
Jun-12
Dec-11
Jun-11
Dec-10
May-10
Dec-09
May-09
Nov-08
May-08
Nov-07
May-07
0%
7% expect staff numbers to decrease
Skill shortages or difficulty hiring? Experiencing Skill Shortages Yes 100.00% 90.00% 80.00%
No
72% - no skill shortages
70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00%
28%
of Taranaki businesses report skill shortages or difficulties recruiting appropriate staff.
Skills shortages mentioned • Truck drivers • Clinical/health staff to work in rural areas within the • Drivers & plant operators region • Machine operators and • NZ Licensed surveyors, NZ drain-layers chartered engineers • Tradesmen, builders • Qualified/experienced • No trained carpenter accountants/business available advisers • Plumbers • Teachers in specialist areas
Special Topic: Taranaki as a High-Tech Region
Questions • • • •
What is high-tech? Examples of local companies/industries? Is Taranaki a high-tech region? (Ranking) Which industries will be transformed the most in next 5 years? • Biggest Technological break-through ever • Importance of technology to business success
How would you define a ‘high-tech’ or technologically advanced business? • More IT/ICT in focus – High use of ICT technology in its operations – Smart operating systems – Full use of social media, electronic booking and invoicing with sometimes no human contact – 3D GPS systems, online HSE systems – Drones, internet businesses, APPS etc
• Engineering design
‘high-tech’ definition continued … • Focus on efficiency, automation, systems, creative solutions and impacts to people (labour/customers) – Automation, robotics, drones, labour minimisation, cost-effectiveness, manufacturing efficiency – Using technology everyday to …make it easy for customers to self-serve, delivery faster, cheaper, quality products and services, lessen the harm to people, be a step ahead of their competitors
‘high-tech’ definition continued … • Innovation, leading edge focus: – Something that is leading edge, reliant on technology rather than staff, innovative – An organisation that refuses to accept the industry norm, status quo but rather seeks to adopt lean philosophies and to develop enabling and/or disruptive solutions for their customers – World first, unique, ground-breaking, life changing, high-value, efficient, scaleable
Taranaki ‘high-tech’ company and industry examples … • Powerco, Chorus, Primo wireless, Datatalk, Proformac technologies
• Powerco with electric cars • Digital marketing firms, Effinity • Methanex, oil and gas industry • Mechanical & design engineering • Fitzroy Engineering e.g. underwater restaurant • Fonterra, dairy industry
Taranaki ‘high-tech’ company and industry examples … • • • •
Banks, TSB Manufacturing, transportation and logistics Architecture, chartered accounting Health industry
• • • • • •
Howard Wright, BTW, Hotter engineering, Carac Hivetech, Timberco Kaitake Farms, IVHQ And many more ….
How would you rank Taranaki as a high-tech region (%)? 70.0 65.4
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0 13.9 11.9 10.0
0.0
Less high tech than average NZ
On par with NZ average
More high-tech than NZ average
Importance of technology to economic success (1 to 10) Importance to
Importance to
Region
Individual Business
7.1/10
6.7/10
Next Five Years - Anticipated industry transformation due to technology (%) 35.0 30.4 30.0
25.0
20.0 16.7
16.7
15.7
15.0
10.0
8.8 6.9
5.0
0.0
4.9
Biggest Technological Breakthrough Ever – something that has made a difference to industry or human lives
• • • • • • •
Internet Computers/IT Digital/email Information and communications technology Google/web browsing Mobile phones, smart phones, associated apps Internet shopping
Biggest Technological breakthrough • • • •
Electricity The wheel Mechanisation Health/Science – Penicillin and the development of vaccines – Discovering yeast and pasteurisation – Discovery of bacteria
• • • • •
Automobile Flush toilets Sliced bread A2 milk The telescope
(cont …)
Regional Development Priorities
Regional Development Priorities • Roading infrastructure
• Tourism – Facilities e.g. toilets, walkways, mountain tracks – Leveraging recreation opportunities e.g. mountain biking, walking, cycling – Commissionable product
• Business growth e.g. generating employment, attracting industry, fostering diversification
• Sustainability e.g. agriculture, eco-tourism, energy
Regional Development Priorities cont… • Internet access/connectivity/communication
• Education/tertiary education/WITT • Health, Arts/music • Port/other connectivity/airport/rail • Innovation/inventors funding
Coming:
19-27 May 2018 • A week-long event-filled festival/platform • Occurs across New Zealand • Seeks to amplify, inspire and build the innovation/technology eco-system • Regions can design their own ‘tech-week’ • Venture Taranaki – Taranaki’s TechWeek curator
How can you get involved? • Events: can include e.g. workshops, breakfasts, hands-on displays, factory tours, niche topics, hackathons etc • How to stay informed or register your event: – Register: on the Techweek discovery forum https://discovery.techweek.co.nz – Contact: Natacha@venture.org.nz
Thank you! www.taranaki.info for more