Industrial production in small y-o-y rise to March 2019

Industrial production rose two percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in March, Statistics Estonia (SE) reports. The main gains were in manufacturing, while production in the energy and mining sectors actually fell over the same period.
In March, total production in manufacturing rose eight percent y-o-y, and over a half of industrial sectors exceeded the volume of the same month of the previous year, SE reports.
The growth in production was mostly due to an increase in the manufacture of food products, computers and electronic products, plus fabricated metal products. Amongst larger sectors, production fell in the manufacture of wood.
Electricity production, however, fell by 40 percent y-o-y, and heat production by five percent, over the same period.
Compared with the preceding month, seasonally adjusted total industrial production as well as production of manufacturing increased by one percent, SE says.
Exports
Sixty nine percent of total manufacturing production was sold on the external market, SE reports, and according to unadjusted data, sales of manufacturing production for exports increased by seven percent y-o-y, and, sales on the domestic market remained at the same level.
A full breakdown is here:
Change in volume index of industrial production, March 2019 (percentages)
Economic activity | Change on previous month by seasonally adjusted dataa | Y-o-y change by unadjusted data | Y-o-y change by working-day adjusted databaseb |
Energy production | 0.6 | -25.2 | -25.2 |
Mining | -13.3 | -14.7 | -14.7 |
Manufacturing | 0.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
Wood and wood products | -4.8 | -3.5 | -3.5 |
Food products | 0.3 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
Computers, electronic and optical products | 1.3 | 28.2 | 28.2 |
Fabricated metal products | 10.9 | 10.5 | 10.5 |
Electrical equipment | -2.3 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
Furniture | 3.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 |
Motor vehicles | -2.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
Building materials | -0.1 | 18.9 | 18.9 |
Machinery and equipment | 7.8 | 23.4 | 23.4 |
Chemical products | 14.7 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
a Here, the impact of different number of working days in a month and seasonally recurring factors has been eliminated. The figure is calculated only in comparison with the previous period.
b Here, the impact of the different number of working days in a month has been eliminated. The figure is calculated only in comparison with the corresponding period of the previous year.
The statistics compiled were based on the questionnaires submitted on 11 and 17 April 2019. SE published the monthly overview within 8 working days.
Statistics Estonia is a government agency under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance, and provides public institutions, business and research circles, international organisations and individuals with reliable and objective information on the economic, demographic, social and environmental situation and trends in Estonia.
Editor: Andrew Whyte