Romania’s industrial output contracts in 2019 after decade-long surge

Romania’s industrial production decreased by 3.5% (as a gross series) year-on-year in December 2019, marking the eighth consecutive month when the industrial output was lower than in the corresponding month of 2018.

Thus, for the whole year 2019, the industrial production was 2.3% lower than in 2018, according to data from the statistics office - INS. The decline in 2019 is the first in the last decade.

In 2018, the industrial output was 55% above that in 2009 - the first year after the recession.

The manufacturing industry recorded a decline of 1.9% in 2019, while the production in the mining industry fell by 2.7% and the output in the electricity industry dropped by 4.2%, INS data shows.

The slowdown in the manufacturing industry was driven by subdued activity in the light industries, where the annual production index contracted by double-digit rates compared to 2018.

The industrial sectors that maintain robust growth are those of non-metallic mineral products (construction materials, +4.8% year-on-year) and crude oil processing (+5.6% year-on-year) while the production of food goods improved by 1.9% year-on-year as well.

The polls among managers indicate expectations for continued negative performance of industrial production.

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