Manufacturers equally negative in January

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Dutch manufacturers were equally negative in January as they were in December, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Producer confidence remained at -1.6. Manufacturers were less negative about their order positions, but also less positive about expected output and more negative about stocks of finished products.

Producer confidence in January was below the 20-year average of -1.3. It reached an all-time high (10.4) in October 2021 and an all-time low (-31.5) in April 2020.

Producer confidence manufacturing industry (seasonally adjusted)
yearmonthbalance (average of the component questions)
2021February-2.6
2021March0.6
2021April3.6
2021May5.6
2021June7.8
2021July9.2
2021August7.1
2021September9.1
2021October10.4
2021November10.1
2021December7.3
2022January6.5
2022February5.8
2022March5.7
2022April7.2
2022May5.8
2022June4.2
2022July5.3
2022August2.4
2022September1.2
2022October0.9
2022November1.1
2022December1
2023January1.1
2023February0.9
2023March0.9
2023April -0.3
2023May-1.7
2023June-2.7
2023July-2.7
2023August-4.6
2023September-3.9
2023Oktober-3.7
2023November-2.6
2023December-5.7
2024January-4.4
2024February-4.2
2024March-4.8
2024April-3.6
2024May-2.8
2024June-2.4
2024July-2.7
2024August-1.9
2024September-1.7
2024October-3.2
2024November-1.8
2024December-1.6
2025January-1.6

Less negative about order positions

Manufacturers’ assessment of the order positions was less pessimistic. However, they were less positive about expected output for the next three months and their assessment of current stocks of finished products was more negative.

One component indicator was positive: manufacturers who anticipated an increase in output over the next three months outnumbered those expecting a decrease.

Two component indicators were negative. Manufacturers were more likely to indicate that their order position was weak rather than strong for the time of year, and more manufacturers described their current stock of finished products as large rather than small.

Producer confidence: component indicators (seasonally adjusted)
 January 2025 (balance % positive answers and % negative answers)December 2024 (balance % positive answers and % negative answers)
Producer confidence-1.6-1.6
Expected output9.611.1
Assessment of stocks of finished products-6.6-5.1
Assessment of order-book levels-7.9-10.9

Producer confidence negative in most of industrial sectors

Confidence was negative in most of the main industrial sectors. Producers in the timber and building materials industry were the most positive. Manufacturers in the food and beverage sector were also positive.

Producer confidence by sector (seasonally adjusted)
 January 2025 (average of the component questions)December 2024 (average of the component questions)
Timber and building materials1-7.6
Food, beverages, tobacco0.7-0.4
Electrotechnical products and machinery-0.32.7
Petroleum and chemicals-3.9-2.2
Paper and printing-3.9-6.2
Metal-5.6-5.5
Transport equipment-6.7-6.2
Textiles, clothes, leather-9.6-8

Capacity utilisation rate increases fractionally

The industrial capacity utilisation rate stood at 77.2 percent at the start of Q1 2025. That is slightly higher than the previous quarter (77.1 percent), but still relatively low.

Capacity utilisation rate, first month of the quarter
   Capacity utilisation rate (%)
2021Quarter 281.7
2021Quarter 384.1
2021Quarter 483.8
2022Quarter 183.6
2022Quarter 284.2
2022Quarter 384.2
2022Quarter 482.7
2023Quarter 182.6
2023Quarter 282.5
2023Quarter 381.6
2023Quarter 481
2024Quarter 178.4
2024Quarter 279.6
2024Quarter 378
2024Quarter 477.1
2025Quarter 177.2

Manufacturing output remained virtually the same in November

In November 2024, the calendar-adjusted output of the Dutch manufacturing sector was 0.1 percent lower than it was in November 2023. This means that manufacturing output has not grown for a total of 17 consecutive months. After adjustments for seasonal and calendar effects, manufacturing output rose by 1.3 percent relative to October.