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The country's small-to-medium sized manufacturing firms have seen a solid bounce back in profits.
Data from inventory management software provider Unleashed showed margins rebounded 16 percent in the December quarter on the previous year.
Overall, six sectors recorded their best profitability since mid-2021, with food, health and medical supplies, industrial machinery, cosmetics and personal care and clothing all recording strong results in the last quarter.
Dramatically improved shipping and logistics timelines fuelled the cosmetics and personal care sector to record high profit margins of $3.06.
Unleashed marketing manager Greg Roughan said nearly two thirds of manufacturers saw better-than-expected or as-expected demand.
"Across the board we've seen a 16 percent uptick in profit margins - that's year-on-year improvement," Roughan said.
"Some of the top sectors are having a 40 percent to 50 percent improvement.
"There's a significant trend here of stabilising lead times, so the supply chain has been steadily improving in New Zealand manufacturing."
The report showed New Zealand manufacturers achieved an average profit margin of $2.05 for every dollar spent on inventory in the December quarter.
This was a 50 cent improvement on the previous quarter, and six sectors recorded their best profitability since mid-2021.
The good news was not evenly spread with the beverage industry, electronics, furniture makers and sports and recreation lagging behind.
The report utilised data from 2600 local businesses, with New Zealand manufacturers still outpaced by their counterparts in Australia and the UK.