Press release 07/10/2019

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX. AUGUST 2019

Industrial activity in the Basque Country rose by 3.3% in August 2019

The industrial production index saw overall growth of 0,7% in the first eight months of 2019

Industrial production of the Basque Country in August 2019 was up by 3.3% compared to the same month of 2018, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The balance for the first eight months of 2019 closed with growth of 0.7% on the same period of 2018.

Compared to the previous month, July 2019, the industrial production of the Basque Country rose by 3.4%, once seasonal effects had been corrected.

The performance of the index in August 2019 compared to August 2018 registered positive and negative results in the major industrial sectors. Energy rose by 23.7%, Intermediate Goods grew by 0.5% and Consumer Goods as a whole were up by 6.1% due to the fact that Consumer Durables increased by 17.8% and Consumer Non-Durables by 4.2%. Prices of Capital Goods, however, were down 8.3%.

The month-on-month variation, August 2019 on July 2019, registered distinct trends for the major industrial sectors. Energy rose by 10.6%, Intermediate Goods grew by 1.7% and Consumer Goods as a whole were up by 4.8% due to the fact that Consumer Durables increased by 16.9% and Consumer Non-Durables by 2.0%. Capital Goods were down 4.7%.

Among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that saw growth in August 2019 with regards to year-on-year variations were: Electricity, Gas & Steam with an increase of 44.0%; Rubber & Plastics, up 9.6%; and Food, Beverages & Tobacco, which rose by 0.4%

In contrast, the largest decreases occurred in the sectors of: Transport Material, which posted a year-on-year drop of 17.0%, and Machinery & Equipment, down 5.0%.

By province, the year-on-year performance of the Industrial Production Index for the month of August showed different trends in the three provinces: it rose 14.1% in Bizkaia, whereas it was down 9.5% in Álava and fell 1.5% in Gipuzkoa.

For further information:

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