Decline in automotive sector weighs on industrial output in March

Budapest, May 12 (MTI) – A 6.7 percent year-on-year fall in output by Hungary’s automotive sector companies weighed on industrial output in March, a second reading of data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday shows.

Hungary’s industrial output fell by 4.6 percent year-on-year in March, albeit from a high base, KSH confirmed in the release.

In March of 2015, industrial output was up by 11.4 percent, the steepest annualised increase of the year.

Adjusted for the number of workdays, the decline in March 2016 was 2.4 percent.

In a seasonally- and workday-adjusted month-on-month comparison, output fell by 1.1 percent.

In addition to the automotive industry, which accounts for almost one-third of Hungary’s manufacturing sector output, food companies’ output also slowed in March, dropping 1.6 percent year-on-year.

Output of the computer, electronics and optical equipment sector, which has a 12 percent share of manufacturing, rose by 4.0 percent.

Photo: MTI