For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/255
8 September 2014
VIENNA, 8 September (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - World manufacturing is facing another downturn caused by reciprocal economic sanctions imposed by leading economies and this has affected industrialized as well as developing economies from East Asia to Latin America, according to a report by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
The report suggests that global manufacturing output growth has dropped to 3.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, compared to the revised estimate of 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
Due to the declining trend in recent months, the annual growth of global manufacturing is expected to be 3.7 per cent in 2014, which is higher than in 2013, but considerably less than earlier expectations.
Ongoing geopolitical tensions and reciprocal economic sanctions have seriously affected the recovery process in European countries, where manufacturing growth in the second quarter of 2014 dropped to 1.4 per cent from 2.4 per cent in the first quarter.
Manufacturing output has dropped in European economies such as France, Germany and Italy, and declining growth was also observed in Japan and the Republic of Korea. However, manufacturing growth in the United Kingdom and the United States were unaffected. The manufacturing growth of the Russian Federation remained unchanged at lower level.
According to UNIDO estimates, the overall growth of manufacturing output of industrialized economies has fallen to 1.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2014 from 2.5 per cent in the first quarter. Industrialized economies account for almost two-thirds of the world manufacturing value added and the growth in these economies has significant impact on global manufacturing.
Recent geopolitical instability in Europe has caused a negative impact on the growth of developing economies, suggests the report. The manufacturing growth rate of developing and emerging industrial economies has decreased to 6.5 per cent in the second quarter from 8.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2014. A particular impasse has been observed in Latin America, where the manufacturing output fell by 3.0 per cent in Argentina, 5.4 per cent in Brazil and by 1.0 per cent in Chile.
Despite these negative trends, the developing and emerging industrial economies will make the main contribution to global growth of annual manufacturing output which is expected to rise by 6.1 per cent in 2014.
Economic instability in industrialized countries adversely affects commodity exchange, capital flows and remittances, which are the major external factors affecting the industrial growth of developing economies.
In sector-wide performance, the production of wearing apparel, non-metallic mineral products, consumer electronics, and machinery and equipment have suffered major setbacks.
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The full report is available here: www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media_upgrade/Resources/Statistics/Rep-QII2014-Final.pdf
UNIDO regularly releases the statistics on current growth trends of global manufacturing at country and regional level.
UNIDO maintains an international industrial statistical database in accordance with the mandate of the United Nations Statistics Commission. Data can be downloaded through online access or obtained through CD products and publications. Find more information on UNIDO statistical database here: www.unido.org/en/resources/statistics/statistical-databases.html
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For more information, please contact:
Shyam
Upadhyaya
UNIDO Chief Statistician
Email: s.upadhyaya[at]unido.org
