KSH confirms 5.4% rise in September industrial output

The September industrial output rise compares to a 6.8% growth in August. According to the seasonally and working day-adjusted index, output was below the level of the preceding month by 0.7%.

Of the sections of industry, production rose in September by 5.7% in manufacturing (representing a decisive weight  of 96%), and by 14.6% in mining and quarrying (carrying very little weight). The output of the energy industry (electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply) decreased by 2.6%.

Compared to the previous monthʼs growth, the production of transport equipment - representing 29% of manufacturing output - dropped year-on-year by 1.8%. The lower performance level of the subsection - a main driver of industry in Hungary - was also reflected in its orders indicator.

The manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles went up by 5.0%, but the manufacture of motor vehicles fell by 7.9%.

The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products - accounting for 12% of manufacturing - rose by 16.6%. The volume increased in every class of the subsection compared to the same month of the previous year, with the manufacture of consumer electronics having the largest weight, growing by 15.4%.

The manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products - accounting for 11% of manufacturing - declined by 1.0%. Within this, the largest subgroup (representing 24% of the subsection), the processing and preserving of meat and the production of meat products, fell by 6.6%. The second largest subgroup, the manufacture of beverages, dropped by 3.3% year-on-year.

The manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products increased significantly, by 27%, owing to an expansion in export demand, while domestic sales essentially stagnated (-0.1%).

The labor productivity of industrial enterprises with five or more employees was 2.1% higher in September than in the same month of the previous year, along with a 3.3% increase in the number of employees, the KSH noted.

In every region of Hungary, industrial output rose year-on-year, the most (8.6%) in Northern Great Plain and the least (1.2%) in Southern Great Plain.

Orders decline, exports up

Total new orders in the observed subsections of manufacturing declined by 1.8% compared to the same month of 2016. The volume of new domestic orders increased by 12.8%, but that of new export orders fell by 3.9%.

The volume of the total stock of orders was below the level of September 2016 by 9.5%.

The volume of industrial export sales increased by 5.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. Within export sales in manufacturing, exports of transport equipment (representing 36% of the total) declined by 2.1%. At the same time, in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products – accounting for 16% of manufacturing exports –the export volume rose markedly by 17.4%.

Industrial domestic sales grew by 6.3%, within which domestic sales of manufacturing were 5.4% higher year-on-year.

In January–September 2017

In January–September 2017, compared to the same period of the previous year, industrial production went up by 5.2%.

The volume of export sales (representing 65% of all sales) grew by 5.7%, while that of domestic sales (accounting for 35% of all sales) rose by 4.0%.

The labor productivity of industrial enterprises with five or more employees went up by 1.7% in the first nine months, along with a 3.2% increase in the number of employees.

Industrial production rose in every region of Hungary in January–September. The largest volume growth was measured in Northern Great Plain (8.9%), and the lowest in Southern Great Plain (2.4%). 

A first estimate of industrial output data for October 2017 will be published by the KSH on December 6.