Manufacturing output over 10 percent up in February

Output growth in almost three quarters of the industries

In February, almost three quarters of all manufacturing industries saw their output increase on an annual basis. With almost 50 percent, the machinery industry again achieved the highest growth among the larger industries. In the transport equipment industry, however, output contracted by 10.5 percent.

Manufacturing output at high level

A more accurate picture of short-term output developments is obtained when figures are adjusted for seasonal effects and the working-day pattern. After adjustments, a decrease of 0.4 percent is seen in manufacturing output between January and February.

Adjusted for seasonal and working-day effects, manufacturing output is seen to fluctuate significantly. In the spring of 2020, output declined rapidly and a low point was reached in May 2020. After that, output picked up again. In February 2022, however, it contracted for the second month in a row. Nevertheless, production remained at a high level.

Producer confidence hardly changed in March

In March 2022, the mood among Dutch manufacturers hardly changed. However, manufacturers were less positive about their future output. In producer confidence for March, the war in Ukraine played a role for the first time.

Germany is an important foreign market for the Dutch manufacturing industry. In March, German producer confidence according to the Business Climate Index of the IFO Institute fell more sharply than ever before. Companies’ expectations also saw a record drop, flipping from optimism to pronounced pessimism. Assessments of the current situation were also lower. In February, the average daily output generated by the German manufacturing industry rose by 1.4 percent year on year, as reported by Destatis.