HIGHLIGHTS
- Industrial output in September 2021 Germany fell 1.1% and France decreased by 1.8% compared to the previous month.
- The main reason for the decline in industrial output was the long-running supply chain, which led to a shortage of input materials.
FULL ARTICLE
Industrial production in Germany and France
According to data released by Germany’s National Statistics Agency Destatis on Nov. 5, industrial output in September fell 1.1%from August. Earlier in August, the production also saw a decline of about 3.5% compared to July. On an annual basis, German industrial output fell 1% year-on-year and 9.5% lower than before the outbreak in February 2020.
In particular, the production of materials and intermediate goods decreased by 2.8% and 1.1%, respectively. Some other manufacturing sectors tend to increase but not significantly. Consumer goods production increased slightly by 0.2%; production of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers increased by 2.1% after an 18.9% decline in August 2021.
According to statistics agency Insee, in France, industrial output in September was down 1.8% from the previous month. Transport equipment production decreased the most by 8.4% compared to August and 29.8% compared to the time before the epidemic.
Airbus, the French planemaker, delivered 36 aircraft in October, down more than half from September. Some suppliers struggled to ramp up component production after more than a year of stalled production.
Output in other manufacturing sectors was also down from the previous month. Specifically, coking coal and refined petroleum production fell 2.3%, other manufacturing sectors fell 0.8%, and quarrying, energy, water supply and food and beverage production all fell 0.7%.
Shortage of raw materials
According to Elmar Voelker, an economist at LBBW Bank in Germany, the main reason for the decline in industrial output was the long-running supply chain, which led to a shortage of input materials.
Reopening economies have caused demand to soar, however, some countries reimposed new blockades to combat the COVID-19 outbreak along with a driver strike, causing transit delays.
All have posed challenges for businesses and pushed up inflation and increased doubts about the global economy’s recovery prospects.
Huyen Tu
FURTHER READING
Shortage of packaging materials, which direction for businesses?
