Australian Industry Index®

The Australian Industry Index® is representative of the modern industrial ecosystem. It brings together the manufacturing, construction, engineering, technology and business services sectors – industries which together account for 36% of the Australian economy.

Recognising the heritage and importance of the Australian PMI® and Australia PCI®, both will continue as sub-indicators available within the Australian Industry Index®, however, there will no longer be separate release dates for these indexes.

The Australian Industry Index® is published on the first working Wednesday of each month (or the following working day if the Wednesday is a national holiday): Australian Industry Index release dates 2026


February 2026: Services surge signals solid start to year

Key findings

  • The Australian Industry Index® lifted by 9.0 points to near neutral in February, the strongest headline result in four years.
  • The uplift was driven by significant lifts in the employment, input and new orders indicators, while activity/sales remained flat.
  • Business services activity increased significantly, supported by stronger orders in the new year. The rise in the headline indicator was primarily driven by services.
  • Construction lost momentum in February, as regulatory burden and skills shortages weighed on operations. Manufacturing remained in contraction with soft demand conditions.
  • Cost factors remain with the sales price indicator well behind input prices and wages, pointing to ongoing margin pressure.

Economic Intelligence newsletter

February 2025

In the February edition of Economic Intelligence we cover:

  • Productivity takes another turn for the worse in 2024-25: Our research note explores what the data tells us about why Australian productivity is stuck in the doldrums and what we might do to turn the ship around.
  • Tracking Australian industry: Broad-based inflation returns; labour market tightened in December; private‑sector vacancies fell; casual employment continued to shrink; engineering activity weakened and government propped up economic growth.
  • Q&A with AustralianSuper: The Investment Team at AustralianSuper reflect on 2025 and share their views on the key drivers of investment performance.
  • Economic Forecasts: The RBA raised the cash rate to 3.85% in February in response to rising inflation and a tightening labour market, making it the first major central bank to act. The Bank’s forecasts suggest inflation will remain elevated and economic growth will soften over the coming year.

Detailed Index Data

Our reports and time series data for the Ai Group Australian Industry Index® are available free of charge to members at any time via email from our economics research team economics@australianindustrygroup.com.au. Our data is available to non-members on an annual subscription basis or a one-off purchase. Our data subscribers receive the report and time series data for the activity index, sector and selected states via email each month.

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Become a member

Australian Industry Group is the peak membership body for Australian industry, linking you to the insights, services and expertise you need to be successful. As a member of Australian Industry Group, you are part of a powerful, credible and experienced industry community.