Manufacturing output up

10/05/2006 14:08

After adjustment for working day patterns, the Dutch manufacturing production in March 2006 was up by 2.3 percent on March 2005. This is the second increase in a row this year. The production increase in February was a modest 0.8 percent.

The output in the chemical industry, the metal industry, and the wood and building materials industry increased. In paper and publishing, food, beverages and tobacco industry and the textile industry the manufacturing production was down on March 2005.

It is best to use the seasonally adjusted figures to determine short-term developments in production. Since the monthly seasonally adjusted figures show a somewhat erratic course, it is better to compare the average over two months to the average over the preceding two month period.

After adjustment for seasonal effects and working day patterns, manufacturing output was the same in the period February-March 2006 compared to December 2005-January 2006. This means manufacturing was able to hold on to the recovery of production in recent months.

Dutch manufacturing production of investment goods rose in the period February-March compared to December 2005-January 2006. On the other hand, output of raw materials and semi-manufactured goods and, to a lesser extent, output of consumer goods declined slightly in this period.