Press release 04/03/2021

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX. JANUARY 2021

Industrial activity in the Basque Country fell by 3.9% in January 2021

Compared to the previous month, December 2020, the industrial production index increased by 2.0%

Industrial production of the Basque Country in January 2021 was down 3.9% compared to the same month of 2020, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data.

Comparing January 2021 with December 2020, the industrial production of the Basque Country rose by 2.0%, once corrected for seasonal effects.

The index showed a downward trend for all the major industrial sectors in January 2021 compared to January 2020. Energy, which includes supply of electrical power and oil refining, fell by 12.1%.

Capital Goods fell by 5.2% and Intermediate Goods were down 1.7%. Of note among the former were manufacture of motor vehicles, construction of locomotives and railway material, naval construction and manufacture of aircraft, while among the latter were the activities of metallurgy, manufacture of metal products, chemical industry and manufacture of rubber and plastic products.

Finally, Consumer Goods, as a whole, posted a year-on-year decrease of 1.2%, although there were positive and negative variations in the performance of its components: Consumer Durables increased by 7.1%, while Consumer Non-durables were down 3.1%. Within Consumer Durables are the activities of manufacture of furniture, domestic appliances and electronic products. Included in the large sector of Consumer Non-Durables are the preparation, processing and conservation of foodstuffs; manufacture of cleaning and hygiene products; and manufacture of clothing.

The month-on-month variation, January 2021 on December 2020, showed a positive evolution in all the main industrial sectors, once corrected for seasonal effects. Energy rose by 7.7%, Intermediate Goods were up by 1.1% and Capital Goods increased by 0.5%. Production of Consumer Goods as a whole increased by 2.5%, as a consequence of the 3.0% increase in Consumer Durables and the 2.4% rise in Consumer Non-durables.

At a more disaggregated level, among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that posted a positive year-on-year performance in January 2021, were Rubber and Plastics with an increase in its production of 5.0%; and Transport Material, with a rise of 1.0%. In contrast, the sectors with most weight that registered the greatest decreases were: Metallurgy & Metal Products, which shrank by 7.7%, Electricity, Gas & Steam, down 7.4% and Machinery and Equipment, which decreased by 5.6%, once corrected for the corresponding calendar effects.

The year-on-year performance of the Industrial Production Index for January 2021 was negative in the three provinces. In Bizkaia there was a decrease of 7.1%, in Álava there was a fall of 4.1% and, finally, in Gipuzkoa it was down 0.4%.

In month-on-month terms, January 2021 compared to December 2020, once corrected for seasonal effects, there was an increase in production of 3.1% in Bizkaia and of 1.9% in Álava, whereas in Gipuzkoa there was rise of 0.9%.

NOTE:

The models used in the correction of calendar effects and deseasonalisation of the series include the effect of COVID-19 on the variables studied, following the recommendations of the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) in its methodological note Guidance on Time Series Treatment in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated in making this effort despite the circumstances. As a result, the January index was calculated with 93.06% coverage of the sample - whose information was collected during February.

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