Manufacturers – the economy is getting back to normal

Manufacturers marking time waiting for the economy to recover can start to think of expansion again with movement around our capital cities close to pre-Covid-19 levels in some cases.

An analysis of movement data in Australia’s capital city CBDs by Roy Morgan and UberMedia shows people are moving round at their highest levels in over a year in both the Melbourne CBD and Adelaide CBD.

In the week to April 11 movement levels derived from mobile data in the Adelaide CBD were almost back to pre-COVID times.

At 94 per cent of pre-COVID levels, movement in Adelaide was the highest level since mid-March 2020.

Movement in the Melbourne CBD was 52 per cent of pre-COVID normal last week – lower than any other Capital City CBD.

This was still the highest level of movement for over a year since late March 2020.

Movement in CBDs plunged to 30 per cent of normal in the depths of the pandemic….but are now clearly recovering.

It is perhaps no co-incidence that the cities with the least Covid – Adelaide, Perth and Hobart are more normal than Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne which suffered the biggest outbreaks.

The Sydney CBD movement levels were at 56 per cent of pre-COVID normal last week, Hobart at 75 per cent and Perth at 79 per cent.

With people back in the cities…manufacturing must be looking up.

Image: Roy Morgan/UberMedia

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