Romania’s industrial production down 0.2% y/y in Q1 despite resilient automotive sector

Romania’s industrial production down 0.2% y/y in Q1 despite resilient automotive sector
By bne IntelliNews May 16, 2022

Romania’s industrial output index contracted marginally by 0.2% y/y in Q1, the statistics office INS announced.

The deterioration was more visible in March, the first month after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, at -1.6% y/y.

The seasonally-adjusted index declined by 1.9% through the first quarter and the annual growth rate turned negative (-1.6% y/y) in March after positive readings during the first two months of the year.

As regards specific industries, automobile manufacturing boasted robust growth (+12.9% y/y in Q1) and the construction materials industry demonstrated resilience (+0.1% y/y).

In contrast, the oil refining industry (-28% y/y), chemical industry (-19% y/y) and metallurgy (-10% y/y) are visibly losing ground.

In a broader context, compared to the first quarter of 2019 (before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine), the industrial output lost 3.3% (-2.9% for the manufacturing industries).

The automobile industry posted the strongest growth (+22%) over the past three years, followed by the construction materials industry and electric equipment manufacturing (+17% each of them).

Food and beverages production, particularly important for food security and the balance of payments, increased modestly by 6.9% and 3.5% respectively, over the past three years.

Data

Dismiss