Press Release 05/06/2018

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX. APRIL 2018

Industrial activity in the Basque Country fell by 0.5% in April 2018

The industrial production index saw growth of 2.6% in the first quarter of 2018

Industrial production of the Basque Country in April 2018 was down by 0.5% compared to the same month of 2017, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The balance for the first four months of 2018 saw growth of 2.6% on the same period of 2017.

Compared to the previous month, March 2018, the industrial production of the Basque Country fell by 3.3%, once seasonal effects had been corrected.

The performance of the index in April 2018 compared to April 2017 registered positive and negative results in the major industrial sectors. Capital goods were up 4.3%, but Energy fell by 3.0% and Intermediate Goods were down by 1.8%. Consumer Goods as a whole fell by 4.8%. Within these, Consumer Durables, which were down 13.7%, determined the rate of decrease, as Consumer Non-Durables fell much more moderately (1.3%).

The month-on-month variation in April 2018 on March 2018, showed a downward trend for all the major industrial sectors, with the exception of Energy, which saw no appreciable change (0.0%). Intermediate Goods fell by 3.4%, Capital Goods were down by 0.5% and Consumer Goods dropped by 4.1%, due to the 9.9% decrease in Consumer Durables and the 1.8% fall in Consumer Non-Durables.

Among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that saw growth in the month of April 2018 with regards to year-on-year variations were: Transport Material, which grew by 6.2%, Machinery & Equipment up 2.5% and Metallurgy & Metal Products with an increase 0.6%.

In contrast, the largest decreases occurred in the sectors of: Timber, Paper & Graphic Arts, which posted a year-on-year drop of 5.7%; Electrical Material & Equipment, down by 4.8%, and Food, Beverages & Tobacco, with a fall of 2.2%.

By province, the year-on-year performance of the Industrial Production Index for the month of April was positive in Gipuzkoa, where it rose by 5.4%, but in Álava, there was a decrease of 2.1% and in Bizkaia it fell by 5.0%.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 01 75 62