The General Industrial Production Index (IPI) declined by 0.8% year over year in February, marking a drop of 2.2 points from January, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
As February advanced, industrial output found its footing, returning to negative annual rates after a 1.2% rise in January. The month showed a mixed performance across sectors, with some areas improving and others weakening, reflecting a cautious but steady momentum in production activity.
Among the product groups, manufacturing equipment posted the strongest year-over-year gain in February, rising by 5.5%. The energy sector followed with a modest increase of 0.6%.
Conversely, there were notable downturns in February within intermediate goods at -5.9% year over year, durable consumer goods at -1.7%, and non-durable goods which fell by 0.9% compared with February 2022.
Looking at activity by subsector, several industries have expanded their production over the years, led by motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, which grew 16.5%, followed by other mining industries with a 9.6% rise.
The sharpest declines were seen in the wood and cork products sector (-28.5%), graphic arts and reproduction of recorded media (-12.7%), and the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (-10.7%).
When seasonal and calendar effects are stripped out, February shows a slight net decline of 0.2 percentage points compared with February 2022, and a 0.4% drop relative to January.
Seven regions report higher production
In February, seven autonomous communities registered year-on-year production gains, while ten regions experienced declines.
The strongest increases were recorded in the Canary Islands with a 9.0% rise, the Region of Madrid up 6.4%, Extremadura up 6.3%, and the Balearic Islands up 5.1%.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Community of Murcia posted the largest annual decrease at -13.3%, with Cantabria and Valencia both down by 4.9%.
Monthly production edges up
Seasonally adjusted data show a 0.6% month-on-month increase in industrial production, bringing February to a sequence that is 1.4 points higher than January’s reading.
By subsector, the largest monthly declines came from furniture manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, each down 4.2%, and graphic arts and reproduction of recorded media, down 4.1%.
On the upside, the tobacco industry surged 20.8% in the month, other extractive industries rose 12.2%, and the extraction of coal and lignite advanced 9.8%, contributing to the overall lift in production activity.
Overall, the February performance suggests a cautious but ongoing recovery in industrial production, with strength clustered in certain manufacturing and extractive segments while consumer-oriented sectors faced pressure from weaker demand and input costs. Analysts are watching for momentum in the first half of the year and how regional dynamics translate into national output, especially in sectors tied to domestic demand and investment cycles. (INE, February data)