9 DECEMBER 2011

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT stayed unchanged month-on-month offset by Capital Goods +1.8% surge (from -3.4% in September) and Intermediate Goods upward trend to -1.3% (from -2.1%) along with Durable Consumer Goods to -0.7% (from -4.9%) and including Non Durable Consumer Goods -0.3% (from -1%)

The production of machinery and equipment surge to -0.8% (from -4.9%) contributed in lifting the output of  electric equipment to -0.5% (from -2.5%) while the production of IT products-electronic equipment and optical turned positive to +3.2% (from -5.4%). Output of transport equipment performed equally and rebounded +1.9% (from -1.2%) thanks to the Automobile Industry +2.5% (from -9.4%) and despite major car makers one week of Days Not Worked (DNW) to face slower demand. Other transport equipment production index stayed sustained and grew +1.2% (from +9.9%).

Intermediate Goods textile-clothing-leather and footwear production index by contrast turned negative  to -2.2% (from -2.4%) and wood-paper-cardboard products contracted further to -3.5% (from -3.7%) along with chemical products to - 2.2% (from -1.4%). Rubber-plastic and non metallic minerals moved up to +0.8% (from -3.3%) while the production of pharmaceutical products, increasingly import-led, improved modestly to -0.1% (from -0.4%). 

In one year, overall output increased +1.8% and the manufacturing industry +2.6% as the production of Capital Goods climbed +4.2%. The index performance was impacted downwards by Intermediate Goods -0.1% decline and Durable Goods  modest +1%. The Auto Industry -3.7% production gap reflected slower demand, unlike transport equipment +2.9%. The production of other transport equipment jumped +11.3%. Output of Non Durable Consumer Goods grew +1.4% with the food and agriculture industry index up 2.7% while textile-clothing-leather and footwear moved in the red, -6.3%, the third consecutive decline. Wood paper cardboard products -8.3% output gap and the pharmaceutical industry -1.6% drop consisted in the third index component in negative territory unlike major sectors slower but resilient momentum.