AutóPRO - profi és prominens

In December, the volume of industrial production – according to seasonally and working-day adjusted indices – was below the level of the previous month by 7.4%.

In 2011, industrial production increased by 5.4% year-on-year. In 2010, an increase of nearly 11% was seen. In the course of 2011, industrial production was formed by two half-years of different dynamics; the growth rate in the second half-year slowed down to nearly one third of that of the previous half year. The highest growth rate was measured in February (15%), while the lowest one was recorded in July (0.5%).

In December 2011, out of the sections of industry, the production of manufacturing rose by 2.8% compared to the same month of 2010, while that of mining and quarrying (having little weight) increased by 22.6%. The output of energy industry (electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply) decreased by 0.6%, primarily as a result of the milder weather (in December 2011, the mean average temperature was 3.9°C higher than in December 2010 according to the Hungarian Meteorological Service).

In December 2011, increases were recorded in nine out of the thirteen subsections of manufacturing. Out of subsections with a significant weight the manufacture of transport equipment representing one sixth of manufacturing grew by 1.7%, to which primarily the class of manufacture of motor vehicles contributed, while a fall was measured in the manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles.

The other significant subsection, the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, accounting for nearly one fifth of manufacturing output, declined by 3.2%; first of all as a result of a drop in export demand for communication equipment. The third largest subsection, the manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products (giving almost one eight of manufacturing) exceeded the level of the previous year by 6.1%, mainly due to a recovery in export sales giving one third of total sales; domestic sales rose only at a lower rate.

Out of subsections representing a medium weight, above average volume increases were measured in the manufacture of rubber and plastics products, and other nonmetallic mineral products (10.1%), as well as in that of basic metals and fabricated metal products (5.5%).

Similarly to the previous month, out of the manufacturing subsections, the output of electrical equipment fell at the highest rate of 18.9%.

In 2011, out of the sections of industry, the output of mining and quarrying grew by 16.1% (in 2010 an increase of more than 20% was seen). The energy industry saw a 1.1% year-on-year decrease in volume from last year’s 1.0% increase.

Concerning the whole year, the volume of manufacturing output rose by 5.8% year-on-year (in 2010 an increase of 11.9% was measured). Similarly to the previous year, the level of production peaked in November. In 2011, increases were recorded in nine out of the thirteen subsections of manufacturing. Out of the three greatest subsections, the production of transport equipment grew by 11.8%, contrary to this the output of computer, electronic and optical products fell by 5.4%. Out of the two machine industry subsections, the manufacture of transport equipment increased in each month of the year, while the other only in the first three months. In the course of this year, the manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products was characterized by a small growth resulting from a recovery in export sales. The second half-year was stronger than the first one; the highest growth rate was measured in August (10.8%).

Out of the subsections, the manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c., representing a medium weight, rose at the highest rate of 44.1%. In 2011, the growth rate of industrial export sales significantly slowed down year-on-year. Annual export sales grew by 7.6%, while a 2.4% year-on-year increase was seen in December, which was lower than the annual average. The level of export sales peaked in November (the same as in the last year), while January and February saw the highest year-on-year increase (18.9%).

In 2011, exports accounted for 55.1% of total industrial sales and for 70.5% of manufacturing sales. Manufacturing exports grew by 8.0% in 2011 and by 2.8% in December compared with a year earlier. Two manufacturing subsections gave one half of export sales. In the last month of the year, the exports of transport equipment, representing one fourth of manufacturing exports, increased slightly, by 2.0%. Contrary to this, the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products – the other subsection with similar weight – fell by 10.5% in export volume. Industrial domestic sales decreased by 5.1% in 2011, and by 5.7% in December compared to the same period of the previous year.

The domestic sales of manufacturing decreased by 0.6% in the whole year and rose by 3.6 % in December. Following a declining tendency in the previous years, 2011 saw a fall (3.3%) in the domestic sales of the manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products, which account for one fourth of domestic manufacturing sales, while a small growth (2.2%) was recorded in December. The domestic sales of coke and refined petroleum products, representing one fifth of domestic manufacturing sales, declined by 6.1% in 2011, increases were measured only in January (8.5%) and December (10.9%). A three-fold year-on-year increase was seen in the domestic sales of basic metals and fabricated metal products giving one tenth of domestic manufacturing sales: a significant increase of 13.7% was recorded in volume.

In December 2011, total new orders in the observed branches of manufacturing increased by 4.2% compared to the same month of 2010. The volume of new export orders rose by 5.2%, while that of new domestic orders declined by 2.1%. The volume of total stock of orders was above the level of December 2010 by 16%.

In 2011, the labour productivity of industrial enterprises with 5 or more employees was 1.9% higher than in 2010, along with a 3.4% increase in the number of employees (following a 1.3% decline in the number of employees in the previous year).

In 2011, industrial production increased in every region of Hungary in comparison with the previous year. The largest volume growth was observed in Western Transdanubia (12.8%), while the lowest in Central Transdanubia (1.6%).