Industrial production in France fell 1.9% in January compared to December 2022, due to a 6.7% drop in the manufacture of transport equipment, which includes aeronautics and automobiles, INSEE reported on Friday. Manufacturing production fell 1.8% and the extractive industries, energy, and water items fell 3%, detailed the National Institute of Statistics.
Year-over-year, manufacturing output increased 2.2% but was flat across the industry due to an 11% drop in the extractive industries, power and water category, “essentially due to the drop in production of electricity” in 2022, according to INSEE. To a lesser extent, the food industry also dragged down industrial production with a fall of 1.6%.
Increased manufacturing of capital goods
The manufacture of transport equipment increased by 10.9% in one year, but in one month production fell by 2.6% in the automotive sector and 9.5% in the “other transport material” category. which includes aeronautics. Also in one month, the drop in production was more brutal in the pharmaceutical industry (-11.6%) and to a lesser extent in the chemical industry (-3.5%).
For its part, the manufacture of capital goods increased by 1%, driven by that of computer, electronic and optical products, which increased by 2.6%. There was also a 3.6% increase in coking and refining. Metallurgy rose slightly by 0.3% and construction was almost stable in the month, with +0.2%.
Finally, INSEE warned that it had reviewed, as every year, the composition of its indices that reflect industrial production to “adapt them to economic or technical developments.”
Source: BFM TV
