For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/340
2 June 2016
Re-issued as received
VIENNA, 1 June (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - World manufacturing remained sluggish in the first quarter of 2016 due to the fragile nature of the recovery process in industrialized economies, which in turn had an impact on growth rates in both developing and emerging industrial economies, according to a quarterly report by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) released today.
Despite weakened growth, developing and emerging industrial economies contributed 90 per cent of global manufacturing growth.
World manufacturing output grew by 2.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the same period of the previous year. Manufacturing output growth was estimated at 0.3 per cent in industrialized economies, and 4.7 per cent in developing and industrial economies.
Most of the growth of industrialized economies came from Europe, where manufacturing output rose by 2.3 per cent. In East Asia, on the other hand, manufacturing production dropped by 2.9 per cent.
Eurozone economies, backed by falling energy prices and a cheaper Euro, have shown consistent growth, with the manufacturing output of Greece, Italy and Spain rising.
With the uncertainty created by a potential Brexit, the United Kingdom experienced a decline in manufacturing output. Output also dropped in oil-dependent economies such as Norway and the Russian Federation, by 6.4 and 3.4 per cent respectively.
The manufacturing output of China, which recently emerged as the world's largest manufacturer, rose by 7.4 per cent in the first quarter.
The manufacturing output of Latin America, which has suffered from subdued global demand for commodities and falling oil prices, dropped by 3.3 per cent. One of the sharpest declines of 11.2 per cent was observed in Brazil.
Asian economies showed a higher growth performance with manufacturing output rising in Malaysia, Indonesia and Viet Nam. However, India's manufacturing output unexpectedly plunged by 2.2 per cent after a short-lived high growth period.
The manufacturing output of Africa dropped by 1.1 per cent, as the major economies suffered from low capital inflows and reduced exports.
The UNIDO report also provides an insight into sectoral perspectives. The worldwide production of tobacco products has dropped by 3.4 per cent. By contrast, production of pharmaceutical products rose by 4.8 per cent.
Industrialized economies maintained higher growth in the production of motor vehicles, pharmaceutical and chemical products. Developing and emerging industrial economies maintained higher growth in wearing apparel, non-metallic mineral products, and consumer electronics.
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The full report is available here
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.
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For more information, please contact:
Shyam
Upadhyaya
UNIDO Chief Statistician
Email: s.upadhyaya[at]unido.org
