Press Release 09/09/2021

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX. JULY 2021

Industrial activity in the Basque Country increased by 7.5% in July 2021

The cumulative increase of the Industrial Production Index for the first seven months of 2021 stood at 12.9%

Industrial production of the Basque Country in July 2021 was up 7.5% compared to the same month of 2020, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The balance of the first seven months of 2021 closed with a 12.9% rise in industrial activity.

Comparing July 2021 with the previous month, June 2021, the industrial production of the Basque Country rose by 0.1%, once corrected for seasonal effects.

The evolution of the index in July 2021 compared to July 2020 was not homogenous for the major industrial sectors. Consumer Goods, as a whole, posted a year-on-year increase of 11.7%, with a 41.9% rise in Consumer Durables and an 5.6% 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.

Intermediate Goods (including the activities of metallurgy and manufacture of metal products, chemical industry and manufacture of rubber and plastic products) posted a year-on-year increase of 8.9% and Capital Goods ( including the manufacture of motor vehicles, construction of locomotives and railway material, naval construction and manufacture of aircraft) rose by 7.2%.

However, Energy, which includes the production and supply of electrical power and oil refining, fell by 2.3% in year-on-year terms in July 2021.

The month-on-month variation for July 2021 on June 2021 was negative for all major industrial sectors, except for Capital Goods, which grew by 4.0%. Energy was down 2.9%, production of Consumer Goods as a whole, fell by 1.0%, as a consequence of the 1.2% decrease in Consumer Durables and the 0.9% drop in Consumer Non-durables. Finally, Intermediate Goods were down 0.3% in relation to the previous month.

At a more disaggregated level, among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that showed greater year-on-year recovery in July 2021 were: Machinery and equipment, with a growth of 18.1%; Metallurgy & Metal Products, which increased by 12.2%; and Electrical Material & Equipment, up 8.8%. In contrast, the sectors that posted a negative year-on year evolution were: Electricity, Gas & Steam, down 7.7%; and Transport Material , with a decreases of 2.0%.

The year-on-year evolution of the Industrial Production Index for July 2021 was positive in the three provinces. Thus, in Bizkaia there was a rise of 8.1%, in Gipuzkoa of 7.3% and, finally, in Álava the year-on-year variation stood at 6.9%.

In the cumulative total for the first seven months of 2021, Gipuzkoa experienced the highest growth, with an increase of 15.7%; followed by Álava, with 12.0%; and Bizkaia with 10.6%.

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 index for July 2021 was calculated with 86.39% coverage of the sample.

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