Source:Insee

11 OCTOBER  2011

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT moved down to +0.5% month-on-month and manufacturing +0.7% due to most assembly lines temporary pause during  August summer recess. Consequently, the production of Capital Goods slowed down to +1%, Intermediate Goods stayed more sustained and maintained the previous month momentum +1.1% while Durable Consumer Goods performed inversely and soft landed to +2.1%. Output of Non Durable Consumer Goods fell -0.6% as the previous month summer sales had met little demand due to poor weather conditions.

Output of coke and refinery products turned positive and grew +2% as activities resumed following maintenance services undertaken in July.  

The Food and Agriculture Industry products output index, a -0.9% decline, was impacted the most by each feeble demand due to unusually rainy weather and the summer vacation plants assembly lines slow down.

The cyclical summer break also pushed down the automobile industry production index, up a modest +0.3%, along with other transport equipment (mainly aerospace, railway equipment, cycles and motorcycles) to a more substantial -5.2% (from +3.7%).
As a result the production of transport equipment fell -2.2%. Output of metal and metallic products consequently eased to +1.1%. Other Capital Goods production indices, electronic equipment and machinery and equipment kept momentum, respectively +2.7% and a +6.4% rebound.

Intermediate Goods optical equipment production index slipped -2%, followed by textile-leather -2.5% output drop. By contrast, wood-paper-cardboard products output index picked up +3.6%, heralding demand for packaging, the chemical industry products turned positive +0.4%, pharmaceutical +0.7% as well as rubber-plastic goods sustained and up +1.7%. Other manufactured products output index remained steady and climbed  +1.3%.

In one year, and despite the summer recess, overall output rose +4.4% and outperformed August pre-crisis levels. Manufacturing increased +5.1% on the same period fuelled by Intermediate Goods +5.4%, Capital Goods +8% and Non Durable Goods +1.5%. Output of Durable Goods was slashed to +3% due to lesser consumer demand.

The overall index counted few components in the red, coke and refinery -6.9%, other transport equipment -0.6% textile-leather -3% and pharmaceutical products -0.9%. All other components recorded noticeable output increases led by machinery and equipment +16.6% leap, electric electronic equipment +10.5%, the automobile industry +7.9%, IT and optical equipment +7.3% and the chemical industry +7%. The Food and Agriculture Industry production index grew +2.3%. Wood-paper-cardboard products production index turned positive and climbed +1%, while rubber-plastic goods grew +6.5%, electronic equipment +5.2%  and transport equipment +4%. The production of metal-metallic products rose +5.2%.