Statistics: Industrial production fell for second month in a row in May

In May 2020, production of industrial enterprises decreased by 18 percent compared with May 2019, data released by Statistics Estonia on Tuesday shows. Production decreased in all three industrial activities: manufacturing, energy production, and mining.
In May, the total production in manufacturing decreased by 17 percent year-on-year. There was a fall in almost all manufacturing activities, with the greatest production decreases in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (-45 percent), repair of machinery and equipment (-39 percent), and manufacture of furniture (-34 percent). Production increased in the manufacture of paper and chemical products and in the quarrying of stone.
Helle Bunder, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said in May, industrial production continued to fall at about the same rate as in April: "It is positive, however, that there wasn't such a significant fall in the manufacture of food products and wood, which are the two manufacturing activities with the largest shares."
66 percent of the total production of manufacturing was sold to the external market. The shares of sales for export were largest in the case of the manufacture of electronic products and pharmaceutical products. Reports of unadjusted data show the sales of manufacturing production for export decreased by 25 percent and sales to the domestic market by 17 percent year on year.
In May, compared with April, the seasonally adjusted total industrial production remained the same, while the production of manufacturing fell by 1 percent.
In energy production, the production of electricity decreased by 41 percent, and the production of heat increased by 9 percent compared with May 2019.
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Editor: Katriin Eikin Sein