Press Release 05/07/2021

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX. MAY 2021

Industrial activity in the Basque Country recovered by 28.2% May 2021

The accumulated variation of the Industrial Production Index for the first five months of 2021 stood at 13.7%

Industrial production of the Basque Country in May 2021 was up 28.2% compared to the same month of 2020, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The balance of the first five months of 2021 reflected a 13.7% rise in industrial activity.

Comparing May 2021 with April 2021, on the other hand, the industrial production of the Basque Country dropped by 1.7%, once corrected for seasonal effects.

In order to understand the magnitude of the trends in year-on-year terms, the impact on industrial activity during the months following the state of emergency decreed on 14 March 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic must be taken into account.

The index showed an upward trend for all the major industrial sectors in May 2021 compared to May 2020.

The greatest increase was registered in Intermediate Goods (these include the activities of metallurgy and manufacture of metal products, chemical industry and manufacture of rubber and plastic products), which rose by 39.8%.

Capital Goods, which includes the manufacture of motor vehicles, construction of locomotives and railway material, naval construction and manufacture of aircraft, increased by 27.8%.

, Consumer Goods, as a whole, posted a year-on-year increase of 18.3%, with a 67.5% rise in Consumer Durables and an 8.8% 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.

Finally, Energy, which includes supply of electrical power and oil refining, rose by 0.2% in year-on-year terms May 2021.

The month-on-month variation May 2021 on April 2021 was, however, negative in all the major industrial sectors. In May 2021 Energy was down 10.5% on April 2021. Production of Consumer Goods as a whole fell by 4.3%, as a consequence of the 6.8% decrease in Consumer Non-durables, given that Consumer Durables saw a rise of 4.7%. Capital Goods fell by 4.1%, while Intermediate Goods were down 2.6%.

At a more disaggregated level, among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that showed greater year-on-year recovery in May 2021 were: Rubber and plastics, with a growth in production of 72.5%; Metallurgy & Metal Products, which increased by 39.9%; and Machinery and equipment, up 31.3%. In contrast, the only sector that posted a negative year-on year performance was Electricity, Gas & Steam, with a drop of 3.9%.

The year-on-year evolution of the Industrial Production Index for May 2021 was positive in the three provinces. Thus, in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 31.7%, in Álava industrial production in May 2021 was 26.2% higher than in May 2020 and, finally, in Bizkaia the year-on-year variation stood at 25.8%.

In the accumulated total for the first five months of 2021, Gipuzkoa experienced the highest growth, with 16.9%; followed by Álava, with 15.9%; and Bizkaia with 9.5%.

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 May index was calculated with 94.24% coverage of the sample information was collected during June.

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