Workday-adjusted industrial output was 0.6 percent higher in March 2012 than the year before, whereas on the basis of seasonally- and workday-adjusted statistics in the third month of the year output was 0.6 percent higher than in the previous month. Unadjusted data signal a decline of 1.6 percent in industrial production. For the future a very positive piece of data is the 17.1 percent year-on-year increase of new orders in the surveyed month.

Out of the sectors of national economy, manufacturing and energy industry output declined by 0.9 percent and 7 percent, respectively, however mining output, which is a relatively less significant sector, increased by 7.7 percent in March 2012 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Within the manufacturing industry there were six sub sectors which registered growth: out of the larger ones the output of manufacturing of transport equipment and food, beverages and tobacco products increased by 10 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. From the smaller sub sectors the output of the manufacturing of rubber and plastics products and other non-metallic mineral products was 3.9 percent higher, and the manufacturing of basic metals and fabricated metal products increased by 2.3 percent. The 5.4 percent decline of the manufacturing of computer, electronic and optical products, which is the second most significant sub sector, had the single largest negative impact on industrial production.

On the side of sales, industrial exports increased by 0.5 percent in March 2012, which result is  attributable to the 9.9 percent export growth of transport vehicle manufacturing and the 8 percent decline of the export of manufacturing of computer, electronic and optical products.

Domestic sales were 7.6 percent lower in March 2012 compared to the level of the previous year, but the domestic sales of manufacturing products registered only a decline of 3.6 percent in the surveyed month.

It is a favourable indicator for the upcoming period that due primarily to the 21.2 percent growth of new export orders for the automobile industry, total new orders of manufacturing sectors increased by 17.1 percent. In addition, total orders were 24.4.percent higher in the surveyed month.

(Ministry for National Economy)