According to data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH), in June 2018, Hungary’s industrial output grew by 4.2% year-on-year. Based on working day-adjusted data, production rose by 3.1%.
The volume of industrial exports grew by 2.8% year-on-year. Within export sales in manufacturing, exports of transport equipment (representing 36% of the total) went up by 4.3%, while exports rose by 5.8% in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, accounting for 15% of manufacturing exports.
Industrial domestic sales rose by 6.7%, within which domestic sales of manufacturing were 7.6% higher compared to the same month of the previous year.
Industrial output – according to the seasonally and working day-adjusted index – was below the previous month’s level by 1.2%.
Within industry, production grew by 4.3% in manufacturing (with a decisive weight of 97% of the total), while rising by 35% in mining and quarrying (carrying very little weight). The output of the energy industry (electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply) dropped by 8.3%.
The production of transport equipment, representing 29% of manufacturing output, rose year-on-year by 2.0%. The manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles went up by 7.6%, whereas the manufacture of motor vehicles declined by 4.9%.
The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, accounting for 12% of manufacturing, grew by 6.6%. The manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products, accounting for almost 10% of manufacturing, went up by 4.3% compared to June 2017, with both domestic and export sales rising.
Output of pharmaceutical firms was up 6.1%, driven by foreign sales. Output in the machines and machinery segment dropped 15.1%.
Increases in production continued in the medium-weight subsections of manufacturing: while the manufacture of rubber and plastics products, and other non-metallic mineral products, grew by 16.9%, the manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products went up by 10.5% year-on-year.
With a 3.4% increase in the number of employees, the labour productivity of industrial enterprises with five or more employees was 0.6% higher in June than in the same month of 2017.
Industrial production rose in every region of Hungary. The largest volume growth was measured in the Northern Great Plain (8.6%), and the lowest in the Southern Great Plain (0.6%).
Total new orders volume in the observed subsections of manufacturing grew by 12.5% compared to June 2017. New domestic orders volume grew by 10.2%, while new export orders rose by 12.9%. The total stock of orders was below the level of June 2017 by 3.0%.
Output up 3.5% in first half
In the first half of 2018, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, industrial production grew by 3.5%. The volume of export sales, representing 64% of all sales, went up by 1.6%, while that of domestic sales, accounting for 36% of all sales, rose by 5.7%.
The labour productivity of industrial enterprises with five or more employees declined by 0.2%, along with a 3.6% increase in the number of employees.
Industrial production grew year-on-year in every region in January-June. The largest volume growth (8.2%) was recorded in the Pest region, while the KSH measured volume increases of between 1.3% and 7.3% in the countryʼs other regions.
A first estimate of industrial production data for July 2018 will be published on September 6th, with a second estimate following on September 12th.