Manufacturers have enjoyed improved business conditions for the first time in more than a year, helped by lower interest rates and a less hostile global environment.
The composite index in the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Westpac survey of industrial trends survey, was 52.4 in the September quarter compared with 48.3 in the previous three months.
This was the first reading above 50 points since March 2011, a level that separates output expansion from contraction.
