Press Release 04/07/2018

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX, MAY 2018

Industrial activity in the Basque Country rose by 2.2% in May 2018

The industrial production index saw growth of 2.5% in the first five months of 2018

Industrial production of the Basque Country in May 2018 was up by 2.2% compared to the same month of 2017, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The balance for the first five months of 2018 saw growth of 2.5% on the same period of 2017.

Compared to the previous month, April 2018, the industrial production of the Basque Country rose by 1.9%, once seasonal effects had been corrected.

The performance of the index in May 2018 compared to May 2017 registered positive and negative results in the major industrial sectors. Capital Goods rose by 7.8% and Intermediate Goods were up 1.2%, but Energy posted a drop of 3.4%. Consumer Goods as a whole fell by 3.7%. Within these, Consumer Durables, which were down 16.2%, determined the rate of growth, since Consumer Non-Durables were up 1.6%.

The month-on-month variation in May 2018, compared to April 2018, registered distinct trends for the major industrial sectors. Capital Goods rose by 2.4% and Intermediate Goods were up 1.9%, but Energy posted a drop of 0.4%. Consumer Goods as a whole increased by 1.1%, since Consumer Non-Durables were up by 1.8% and Consumer Durables were down 0.9%.

Among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that saw the most significant growth in the month of December 2018 with regards to year-on-year variations were: Machinery & Equipment and Electrical Material & Equipment, with an increase of 8.2% in both cases, and Transport Material, which was up 7.6%.

In contrast, there were decreases in the sectors of: Timber, Paper & Graphic Arts, which posted a year-on-year drop of 4.2%, and Electricity, Gas & Steam, which was down 1.5%.

By province, the year-on-year performance of the Industrial Production Index for the month of May was positive in Gipuzkoa, where it rose by 8.4%, and in Álava, with an increase of 1.7%, but in Bizkaia it registered a fall of 3.3%.

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