Ministry of National Economy of Hungary : Manufacturing industry orders increased significantly despite slight decline in production

January 16, 2013 3:57 PM

As a positive development, the overall number of new orders at manufacturing industry enterprises increased impressively, by 45.7 percent. However, seasonally and workday-adjusted industrial production declined by 0.1 percent in November 2012 compared to the previous month. In comparison to November 2011 both unadjusted and workday-adjusted statistics signal that industrial output decreased by 6.9 percent which figure was also due to a high basis reading. Decrease, however, was even larger in Italy (7.6 percent) and Spain (7.2 percent), and among our regional peers the Czech Republic registered a similar volume decline of 6.2 percent.

Output increased in three manufacturing industry sub sectors: among significant sub sectors the manufacturing of transport equipment expanded by 9.7 percent, however, output regarding food, beverages and tobacco products and that of computers, electronic and optical products was down by 1.2 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively, in November 2012 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. On the other hand it is favourable that among sectors of median weight manufacturing output of chemicals and chemical products was 4.9 percent higher compared to the level of one year ago.

The output volume of manufacturing industry declined by 6.4 percent; output of mining, a relatively less significant sector, was down by 13.8 percent and that of energy industry was 9.4 percent lower in November 2012 compared to the level observed one year ago.

Analyzing sales it can be observed that industrial exports in November 2012 registered a decline of 4.9 percent, which has been the consequence mainly of the 12.1 percent increase of transport equipment exports and the 26.8 percent decrease of the manufacturing of computers, electronic and optical products. Domestic sales were down by 12 percent in November in comparison to the level seen one year ago.

It is a positive signal going forward that the overall number of orders at the observed manufacturing industry sectors, due to an exceptionally large one-off order, increased outstandingly, by 45.7 percent, in November 2012 compared to the level of one year ago. The total number of orders, however, increased by 48.6 percent in the observed month.

(Ministry for National Economy)