Romania’s industry dragged down by energy-intensive sectors in 2022

The gross industrial production contracted by 4.4% YoY in the last quarter (Q4) of last year, marking the steepest contraction since the factories suspended operations during the Covid-19 lockdown, according to data published by the statistics office INS.

Full-year industrial growth, measured in gross output terms, was -1.8% in 2022.

In the first three quarters of the year, the annual contraction rate ranged between 0.3% and 1.6%. The slowdown was particularly steep in December (-10% YoY).

Last year, industrial activity was particularly subdued in energy-intensive sectors such as metal production or chemistry, and this had an impact on the sector of utilities (-17.2% YoY in Q4, -9.4% YoY in the whole year). The core sector of manufacturing generated only 0.4% lower gross output in 2022, despite the energy-intensive sectors slowing down.

Speaking of full-year performance, the sectors of chemistry and metal production contracted by some 15% YoY and 20% YoY, respectively.

The automobile industry stagnated in terms of gross output, despite the record number of units announced by the country’s two factories. The refining industry posted a 12.6% YoY advance as the Petromidia refinery returned to normal operations after a technical outage in 2021.

The food processing industry managed to expand by 3.2% despite shrinking purchasing power and rising prices.

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