Industry January 2018

Industrial production plunges in January

Activity in the industrial sector contracted in January, recording the worst reading in over a year. Industrial production decreased a seasonally-adjusted 1.0% from the previous month, contrasting December’s 0.4% rise. The result was worse than market analysts’ expectations of a 0.5% fall. January’s downturn mainly reflected falling production of energy, which is often related to weather conditions.

On an annual basis, industrial production expanded 2.7%, the smallest growth rate since April 2017 (December: +5.3% year-on-year). Meanwhile, the trend pointed up with annual average industrial production growth rising from 2.9% in December to 3.1%.

Among the Euro area economies for which data is available, the largest contractions in industrial production were registered in the Netherlands (-5.7% month-on-month) and Spain (-2.5% mom). On the flipside, Portugal had the best performance with industrial output growing 2.5% over the previous month. Among the region’s remaining largest economies, industrial output sunk in France (-2.0% mom) but grew in Germany (+0.3% mom) and Italy (+1.6%).

Free sample report

Access essential information in the shortest time possible. FocusEconomics provide hundreds of consensus forecast reports from the most reputable economic research authorities in the world.
Close Left Media Arrows Left Media Circles Right Media Arrows Right Media Circles Arrow Quote Wave Address Email Telephone Man in front of screen with line chart Document with bar chart and magnifying glass Application window with bar chart Target with arrow Line Chart Stopwatch Globe with arrows Document with bar chart in front of screen Bar chart with magnifying glass and dollar sign Lightbulb Document with bookmark Laptop with download icon Calendar Icon Nav Menu Arrow Arrow Right Long Icon Arrow Right Icon Chevron Right Icon Chevron Left Icon Briefcase Icon Linkedin In Icon Full Linkedin Icon Filter Facebook Linkedin Twitter Pinterest