Factory Output: September IIP at -4.3% vs -1.1 in August

Showing signs of sluggishness in the economy, industrial production shrank by 4.3 percent in September, registering the weakest performance in seven years due to output decline in manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors, as per official data released on Monday.

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, 4.3 percent contraction is the lowest in the 2011-12 series of Index of Industrial Production, which was unveiled in May 2017. The IIP had declined by 0.7 percent in April 2012.

Factory output, measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 4.6 percent in September 2018.

According to the data, contraction in IIP was further revised downward to 1.4 percent in August from a 1.1 percent decline under provisional estimates released last month.

From April to September, the IIP growth remained almost flat at 1.3 percent compared to 5.2 percent in the same period last fiscal.

A slowdown was witnessed in the manufacturing sector, which declined by 3.9 percent in September as compared to 4.8 percent growth a year ago.

The power generation sector output dipped 2.6 percent in September, compared to an 8.2 percent rise a year ago.

Mining output too fell by 8.5 percent in September as against 0.1 percent climb in the corresponding month last fiscal.

Capital goods production, which is a barometer of investment, declined by 20.7 percent in September compared to a 6.9 percent hike in the year-ago month.

As per use-based classification, the growth rates in September 2019 over September 2018 are (-) 5.1 percent in primary goods, 7 percent in intermediate goods and (-) 6.4 percent in infrastructure/ construction goods.

Consumer durables and consumer non-durables have recorded growth of (-) 9.9 percent and (-) 0.4 percent, respectively.

In terms of industries, 17 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during September 2019 as compared to the same month last year.

The industry group 'manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers' has shown the highest negative growth of (-) 24.8 percent followed by (-) 23.6 percent in furniture and (-) 22.0 percent in fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment.

On the other hand, the manufacturing of wood and products of wood & cork, except furniture; articles of straw and plaiting materials have shown the highest positive growth of 15.5 percent followed by 9.2 percent in basic metals.

Manufacturing Growth At -3.9% Vs -1.2% (MoM)

Mining Growth At -8.5% Vs 0.1% (MoM)

Electricity Growth At -2.6% Vs -0.9% (MoM)

Capital Goods Growth At -20.7% Vs -21% (MoM)

Primary Goods Growth At -5.1% Vs 1.1%(MoM)

Intermediate Goods Growth Unchanged At 7% (MoM)

Cons Durables Growth At -9.9% Vs -9.1% (MoM)

Cons Non-durables Growth At -0.4% Vs 4.1% (MoM)