Press Release 03/06/2021

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX. APRIL 2021

Industrial activity in the Basque Country recovered by 64.4% in April 2021

For the first four months of 2021 the Industrial Production Index stood at 10.4%

Industrial production of the Basque Country in April 2021 was up 64.4% compared to the same month of 2020, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The balance of the first four months of 2021 reflected a 10.4% rise in industrial activity.

Comparing April 2021 with March 2021, industrial production of the Basque Country increased by 3.1%, once corrected for seasonal effects.

In order to understand the magnitude of the trends in year-on-year terms, it should be borne in mind that on 14 March 2020 a state of emergency was decreed in response to the COVID19 pandemic, which meant most industrial activity was subject to restrictions during April 2020.

In effect, the evolution of the index in April 2021 compared to April 2020 showed generalised positive trends in all the major industrial sectors: Capital Goods, which includes the manufacture of motor vehicles, construction of locomotives and railway material, naval construction and manufacture of aircraft, increased by 91.6%. Intermediate Goods were up 76.4% (these include the activities of metallurgy and manufacture of metal products, chemical industry and manufacture of rubber and plastic products).

Consumer Goods, as a whole, posted a year-on-year increase of 47.0%, due to the 137.6% rise in Consumer Durables and the 33.2% increase in Consumer Non-Durables. 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.

Energy, which includes supply of electrical power and oil refining, rose by 7.9% in year-on-year terms in April 2021.

The month-on-month variation, April 2021 on March 2021 was also positive in all the major industrial sectors. In April 2021 Energy was up 14.8% on March 2021 and Capital Goods increased by 4.2%. Production of Consumer Goods as a whole increased by 3.3%, as a consequence of the 4.6% increase in Consumer Durables and the 2.9% rise in Consumer Non-durables. Intermediate Goods, for their part, saw growth of 1.9%.

At a more disaggregated level, among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that showed greater year-on-year recovery in April 2021 were: Transport Material, which rose by 198.5%; Rubber and plastics, with a growth in production of 125.0%; and Metallurgy & Metal Products, up 74.7%.

The year-on-year evolution of the Industrial Production Index in April 2021 was positive in the three provinces, although to varying degrees. In Álava, in the year-on-year comparison, recovery reached 104.9%. In Gipuzkoa, industrial production in April 2021 was 60.1% higher than in April 2020 and, finally, in Bizkaia the year-on-year variation stood at 50.4%.

In month-on-month terms, April 2021 compared to March. 2021, in Álava there was an estimated increase in production of 6.5%, whilst Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa saw growth of 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively.

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 with gathering information. As a result, the April index was calculated with a 92.61% coverage of the sample information was collected during May.

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