February has been a big month for New Zealand, with widespread catastrophic flooding and landslips caused by Cyclone Gabrielle across the North Island.
Our team has also been hard at work through all the changes, with major updates across our suite of products. Following the release of the 2022 Regional Economic Profiles (REP) at the end of January 2023, in February Infometrics released our national building and transport forecasts, Sector Profile forecasts, and the December 2022 Quarterly Economic Monitor (QEM).
Turning to the newsletter, Chief Executive and Principal Economist Brad Olsen and Economist Joel Glynn have analysed local economic performance in 2022 using our REP insights, with strong economic growth but different trends in different parts of New Zealand.
Brad has also included our assessment of local economies up to the end of December 2022, finding that economic activity has been solid but that Cyclone Gabrielle poses challenges for the future. Principal Consultant Rob Heyes has taken a look at the cruise ship industry, and what it contributes to regional economies. Chief Economist Adolf Stroombergen has written an article that provides some insight into how New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions will be paid for - and who should pay.
Economist Joel Glynn ends the newsletter with our regular Chart of the Month, looking at the government's further extension to the fuel tax subsidy.
The good news (at least for economists) is that Census day (7 March) is nearly upon us. We wish you (and Harry Styles) a happy evening filling out your census forms! It's important to get these insights, and we're looking forward to diving into the figures in due course as they're released by StatsNZ.
