In August, the General Industrial Production Index fell by 3.6 percent year over year, according to the National Statistics Institute. This decline marks a slowdown from July by 1.5 percentage points and represents the steepest drop since April, when production fell by 4.2 percent. These figures were reported on Thursday by the INE.
As August ended, the industry faced negative year over year rates across the production chains for three consecutive months, following declines of 1.7 percent in June and 2.1 percent in July.
Non-durable consumer goods led the downturn in August with a 9.8 percent drop from the previous year. The energetic sector fell by 6.2 percent, intermediate goods by 4.6 percent, equipment goods by 2.4 percent, and non-durable consumer goods by 0.4 percent.
From a product line perspective, clothing manufacturing endured the largest year over year contraction at 24.1 percent, followed by wood and cork products at 17.4 percent and leather and footwear at 15.7 percent. Conversely, pharmaceutical products rose by 25.1 percent and the manufacture of other transport materials increased by 20.2 percent.
After adjusting for seasonal and calendar effects, industrial production in August decreased 3.4 percent compared with August of the previous year, a rate 1.2 points lower than July.
Only the Canary Islands and Madrid reported increases in industrial production
Across the country, industrial production contracted in 15 autonomous communities in August, with only the Canary Islands increasing by 4.5 percent and Madrid by 1 percent year over year.
The sharpest declines appeared in Navarre at 15.9 percent, Asturias at 13.6 percent, Murcia at 11.1 percent, and Rioja at 10.9 percent. These regions showed double-digit decreases, while Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Aragon experienced more moderate declines of 0.1 percent, 1.4 percent, and 2 percent respectively.
Industrial output eased 0.8 percent month over month
On a monthly basis, using the adjusted series, August production fell by 0.8 percent from July. A slight 0.1 percent monthly uptick occurred in July, with August 2022 showing a 0.5 percent rise.
Energy production increased on a monthly basis by 1.9 percent in August, while most other sectors declined. The largest drop occurred in durable consumer goods at 3 percent, followed by capital goods at 2.1 percent, intermediate goods at 1.8 percent, and non-durable consumer goods at 0.8 percent.
In terms of activity, the month saw notable gains in clothing manufacturing, which rose by 26.6 percent, and in the manufacture of computers, electronics, and optical products by 7.6 percent. Increases were also seen in coke plants and oil refinery at 3.9 percent.
On the downside, declines were most pronounced in the pharmaceutical sector at 13.3 percent, tobacco manufacturing at 23.8 percent, and graphic arts at 19.5 percent.
Overall, the August data point to a mixed but softer industrial environment, with certain sub-sectors showing resilience while others pull the index lower. Analysts will watch upcoming releases to assess whether the current trend continues into the autumn months, affecting broader economic momentum and investment decisions. Citation: INE data.
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