Industrial activity losing steam

  • 2011-05-25
  • From wire reports

VILNIUS - In the period from March 2010 to March 2011, Lithuania saw a 37.2 percent increase of industrial new orders, show data at Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, reports news agency ELTA. In March 2011, compared with February 2011, the euro area (EA17) industrial new orders index fell by 1.8 percent. In February the index grew by 0.5 percent. In the EU27, new orders decreased by 1.9 percent in March 2011, after a rise of 1.0 percent in February.
Excluding ships, railway and aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders decreased by 1.1 percent in the euro area and by 1.2 percent in the EU27.

In March 2011 compared with March 2010, industrial new orders grew by 14.1 percent in the euro area and by 11.3 percent in the EU27. Total industry new orders excluding ships, railway and aerospace equipment rose by 15.2 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively.

In March 2011 compared with February 2011, new orders for durable consumer goods dropped by 6.8 percent in the euro area and by 4.0 percent in the EU27. Capital goods fell by 4.6 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. Non-durable consumer goods orders decreased by 3.5 percent in the euro area and by 2.1 percent in the EU27. Intermediate goods rose by 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Among the member states for which data are available, total manufacturing working on orders fell in thirteen and rose in nine. The largest decreases were registered in Denmark (-22.3 percent), Ireland (-13.0 percent), Portugal (-8.4 percent) and Slovakia (-8.1 percent), and the highest increases in Finland (+5.5 percent), Italy (+4.5 percent) and Estonia (+3.9 percent).
In March 2011 compared with March 2010, new orders for intermediate goods rose by 19.2 percent in the euro area and by 16.8 percent in the EU27. Capital goods increased by 14.5 percent and 11.6 percent respectively. Non-durable consumer goods fell by 0.5 percent in the euro area and by 2.9 percent in the EU27. Durable consumer goods decreased by 2.6 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.

Among the member states for which data are available, total manufacturing working on orders rose in nineteen and fell in three. The highest increases were registered in Estonia (+59.6 percent), Bulgaria (+37.3 percent), Lithuania (+37.2 percent) and Latvia (+34.1 percent), and the decreases in Greece (-9.3 percent), the United Kingdom (-8.1 percent) and Ireland (-6.6 percent).