Press Release 07/11/2018

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX, SEPTEMBER 2018

Industrial activity in the Basque Country rose by 2.0% in September 2018

The Industrial Production Index saw growth of 2.1% in the first nine months of 2018

Industrial production of the Basque Country in September 2018 was up 2.0% compared to the same month of 2017, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The balance for the first nine months of 2018 saw growth of 2.1% on the same period of 2017.

Compared to the previous month, August 2018, the industrial production of the Basque Country remained unchanged (0.0%), once seasonal effects had been corrected.

The performance of the index in September 2018 compared to September 2017 registered positive and negative results in the major industrial sectors. Capital goods were up 8.1%, Energy remained unchanged (0.0%) but Intermediate Goods fell by 1.6%. Consumer Goods as a whole were down 0.1%. Within these, Consumer Durables increased by 1.0% and Consumer Non-durables decreased by 0.5%.

The month-on-month variation, September 2018 on August 2018, also registered distinct trends for the major industrial sectors. Capital Goods were up 4.6% and Energy increased by 0.1%, but Intermediate Goods were down 2.6% and Consumer Goods as a whole fell by 0.2%, due to the 0.4% drop in Consumer Durables whilst Consumer Non-Durablesdecreased by 0.2%.

Among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that saw the most significant growth in terms of year-on-year variations were: Machinery & Equipment, which increased by 6.1%, Transport Material, up 5.4% and Food, Beverages & Tobacco, which rose by 4.3%.

On the other hand, there were decreases in the sectors of Electricity, Gas & Steam, which fell by 2.8%, Metallurgy & Metal Products, down 2.1% and Timber, Paper & Graphic Arts, which dropped by 1.3%.

By province, the year-on-year performance of the Industrial Production Index for the month of September was positive in Gipuzkoa, where it rose by 6.2%, in Bizkaia it remained unchanged (0.0%), and in Álava there was a decrease of 1.8%.

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