Showing posts with label industrial production. Show all posts
Showing posts with label industrial production. Show all posts

Saturday, April 6, 2019

6/4/19: Industrial Production and Global Trade are Tanking


The great convergence of simultaneously declining global trade flows and industrial production:

Via topdowncharts.com

The trend is also evident from the global manufacturing and composite PMIs (see https://trueeconomics.blogspot.com/2019/04/4419-bric-manufacturing-pmis-for-1q.html and https://trueeconomics.blogspot.com/2019/04/6419-bric-services-lead-manufacturing.html).

Note the range bounds for two periods (pr-GFC and post-GFC) in the first chart above.

Friday, February 15, 2019

15/2/19: Euro area is sliding toward recession


Based on the latest data through January 2019, Eurozone’s economic problems are getting worse. In 4Q 2018, Euro area posted real GDP growth of just 0,.2% q/q - matching the print for 3Q 2018. Meanwhile, inflation has fallen from 1.7% in December 2018 to 1.6% in January 2018. And Eurocoin - a leading growth indicator for euro area GDP expansion slipped from 0.42 in December 2018 to 0.31 in January 2019. This marked the third consecutive month of decline in Eurocoin, and the steepest fall in 8 months. Worse, July 23016 was the last time Eurocoin was at this level.



Within the last 12 months, Eurozone growth has officially fallen from 0,.7% q/q in 4Q 2017 to 0.2% in 4Q 2018, HICP effectively stayed the same, with inflation at 1.6% in January 2018 agains 1.5% in January 2018. And forward growth indicator has collapsed from 0.95 in January 2018 to 0.31 in January 2019.

Euro area is heading backward when it comes to economic activity, fast.

Germany just narrowly escaped an official recession, with 4Q growth at zero, and 3Q growth at -0.2%


Italy is in official recession, with 3Q 2018 GDP growth of -0.1% followed by 4Q 2018 growth of -0.2%.

Industrial goods production is now down two consecutive months in the Euro area as a whole, with latest print for December 2018 sitting at - 4.2% decline, following a -3.0% y/y fall in November 2018.


Worse, capital goods industrial production - a signal of forward capacity investment, is now down even more sharply: from -4.4% in November 2018 to -5.5% in December 2018.

Friday, June 10, 2016

10/6/16: Italian Manufacturing Capacity post-crisis


A third paper on manufacturing capacity, also from Italy is by Libero Monteforte and Giordano Zevi, titled “An Inquiry into Manufacturing Capacity in Italy after the Double-Dip Recession” (January 21, 2016, Bank of Italy Occasional Paper No. 302: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2759786).

Here, the authors “…investigate the effects of the prolonged double-dip recession on the productive capacity of the Italian manufacturing sector”. The authors “…estimate that between 2007 and 2013 capacity contracted by 11–17%, depending on the method.”

In addition, the authors “…conduct an exercise to quantify the loss with respect to a counterfactual evolution of capacity in a ‘no-crisis’ scenario in which pre-2008 trends are extrapolated: in this case the loss is close to 20% for all methods.”

Summary of the results:


And here is decomposition of the potential output drop by factor of production:



Per authors: “In terms of factor determinants, about 60% of the cumulated drop of potential output in 2007-13 came from labour, while around 25% was attributable to the TFP (Chart above). The reason why the contribution of capital is comparatively small is twofold: first, the industrial
sector is characterized by a large wage share (close to 70%), therefore the contribution of K in the production function is limited; second, capital is a highly persistent variable and the fall in investments recorded during the two recessions, even if remarkably large, has not (so far)
resulted in a dramatic drop of the capital stock.”

The key lessons from all of this are: potential output in Italy fell precipitously across the manufacturing economy in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. Meanwhile, counterfactual extension of pre-crisis trends was strongly signalling to the upside in manufacturing.

Majority of metrics used suggest that productive capacity in Italy declined by 15-18 percent through 2013, while counterfactual estimates for pre-crisis trend would have implied an average rise of ca 5 percent.

Last, but not least, “Firms producing basic metals, fabricated metal products and machinery and equipment are found to be the ones that were most penalized by the crisis of the last six years; by contrast, sectors that were already shrinking before 2008, such as the manufacture of textiles, appear not to have performed significantly worse during the double-dip recessions than they had in the early 2000s.”

10/6/16: Italian Industrial Production: 2007-2013


Staying with the earlier theme of industrial / manufacturing sector trends, here is a paper from the Banca d’Italia, authored by Andrea Locatelli, Libero Monteforte, and Giordano Zevi, titled “Heterogeneous Fall in Productive Capacity in Italian Industry During the 2008-13 Double-Dip Recession” (January 21, 2016, Bank of Italy Occasional Paper No. 303: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2759788) looks at the two periods of shocks, separated by one period of brief recovery.

Per authors, “between 2008 and 2013 productive capacity was considerably downsized in the Italian manufacturing sector” based on micro data from the Bank of Italy surveys across “the whole 2008-13 period and in four sub-periods (pre-crisis 2001-07, first phase of the crisis 2008-09, recovery 2010-11, and second crisis 2012-13).”



The study main findings are:
i) “losses of productive capacity varied widely across manufacturing sub-sectors with differences in pre-crisis trends tending to persist in a few sub-sectors during the double-dip recession”;
ii) “large firms were more successful in avoiding major capacity losses, especially in the first phase of the crisis”;
iii) “the share of sales on foreign markets was negatively correlated with performance in 2008-09, but the correlation turned positive in 2012-13”;
iv) “among the Italian macro-regions, the Centre weathered the long recession better” (see charts below);
v) “subsidiaries underperformed firms not belonging to any group”; and
vi) “the negative effects on productive capacity of credit constraints, which discouraged investments, were felt by Italian firms particularly in 2012-13”.

Very interesting outrun by region, presented here in two charts:




Some beef on that point: “The decline in [productive capacity] was not evenly distributed across the Italian macro-regions. The macro-regions more exposed to foreign demand were severely hit by the global financial crisis, with [productive capacity] declining by 8.6% in the North West and 7.0% in the North East.” Now, here’s the irony: Italy was (barely) able to sustain long-term Government borrowing on foot of its extremely strong exporters. During the recent twin crises, this very strength of the Italian economy turned against it. Which sort of raises few eyebrows: strong exporting capacity of Italy led the country to experience sharper shock than in many other states. Yet, the core prescription for growth from across the EU members states is - export!; and core prescription for recovery from the status quo main stream economists is - beef up current ace t surpluses (aka, raise exports relative to imports). Italian evidence does not really sound that supportive of these two ‘solutions’…

“During the temporary recovery, the South under-performed the rest of the country, losing 4.0% of its [productive capacity], while [productive capacity] stagnated in the other macro-regions.”

“The sovereign debt crisis affected the entire country more evenly. As a result, between 2010 and 2013 the loss of [productive capacity] in the South (-8.0%) was roughly twice as large as that recorded in the rest of the country (-4.7%)… The gap reflects the within-country heterogeneity in firms’ characteristics : …South Italy has mainly small firms, with an average of 100 employees (roughly constant during the double-dip crisis). Average firm size is larger in the Centre, just below 150, and in the North East, around 180, and even more so in the North West (consistently above 200). …southern regions have smaller export shares (about 20%), which are higher everywhere else (around 35% at the beginning of the sample); the export share shows a positive trend in all macro-regions.” You can see these reflected in the charts above.

In summary, thus, “the degree of foreign exposure helps to explain why the North suffered more during the global financial crisis. Also, the continuing decline of [productive capacity] in the South since 2007 is consistent with the smaller firm size in that macro-area (discussed above) and the larger decline of domestic demand there”.


So the key lesson here is: in the current environment characterised by rising regionalisation of trade flows and weak global demand, the exports-led recovery is more likely to trigger a negative shock to the economy than support economic growth.

Unless you are talking about a country like Ireland, where exports are booming despite global demand slowdown. Which, of course, cannot be explained by anything other than beggar-thy-neighbour tax optimisation policies.

10/6/16: Wither Manufacturing? Evidence from Denmark


Couple of posts relating to most current research on the recovery and longer term prospects in global manufacturing. As usual here, we shall focus on the advanced economies.

A recent NBER paper, by Andrew Bernard, Valerie Smeets, and Frederic Warzynski, titled “Rethinking Deindustrialization” (March 2016, NBER Working Paper No. w22114: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2755386) looked at decline in manufacturing activity in Denmark, showing that “manufacturing employment and the number of firms have been shrinking as a share of the total and in absolute levels.” The authors examine this phenomena over the period of 1994 to 2007.

“While most of the decline can be attributed to firm exit and reduced employment at surviving manufacturers, we document that a non-negligible portion is due to firms switching industries, from manufacturing to services.”

Here is an interesting list of related findings based on looking closer at the “last group of firms before, during, and after their sector switch”:

  • “Overall this is a group of small, highly productive, import intensive firms that grow rapidly in terms of value-added and sales after they switch.”
  • “By 2007, employment at these former manufacturers equals 8.7 percent of manufacturing employment, accounting for half the decline in manufacturing employment.”
  • “…we identify two types of switchers: one group resembles traditional wholesalers and another group that retains and expands their R&D and technical capabilities.”

Net result? Quite surprising conclusion that the “findings emphasize that the focus on employment at manufacturing firms overstates the loss in manufacturing-related capabilities that are actually retained in many firms that switch industries.”


Tuesday, June 16, 2015

16/6/15: Indigenous Sectors and Exports: Ireland's Conundrum


In response to my comment on Irish exports of goods data through April, one analyst suggested that things are not as bleak, citing expansion of industrial production in Traditional sectors as a sign of real economy improvements (as opposed to accounting economy of our MNCs-led tax optimisation exports).

No doubt, the comment is correct. Things are not so bleak as Traditional sectors shrinking. In fact, they have been growing and with them, there has been some growth in indigenous exports too.

Here is the latest quarterly data on industrial production separating Modern sectors (MNCs-dominated) and Traditional sectors (which also include a large segment of MNCs, for example in food and beverages).


Yes, Traditional sectors have expanded. Which is good news. But they expanded at a rate of 20.4% over 12 quarters, while tax optimising Modern sectors expanded at a rate of 78.6% over 8 quarters. Good news is not too great, it turns out.

But what about more recent data? I prefer quarterly series for they provide a bit less short run volatility. But as you might ask, here are comparatives:

  • In Q1 2015, Modern Sectors output by volume rose 39.4% y/y while Traditional Sectors output rose 10.1% y/y. That's almost 4 times slower rate of growth for the Traditional Sectors.
  • In April 2015, Modern Sectors output rose more reasonable 7% y/y (and shrunk 1.1% m/m), while Traditional Sectors output rose 11.3% y/y (and grew 4.7% m/m). That made April 2015 the first month since December 2014 that this happened.
  • But what exactly did happen in April to drive Traditional Sectors output up faster than Modern Sectors output? Modern sector includes the following industrial sectors: NACE 20.00 - 21.20 Chemicals and pharmaceuticals: up only 7% in April y/y,  NACE 26.00 - 27.90 Computer, electronic, optical and electrical equipment was up 44.8% in April y/y; NACE 18.20 Reproduction of recorded media up 34.8% y/y in April y/y; and NACE 32.50 Medical and dental instruments and supplies which goes into "Machinery and equipment, not elsewhere classified" reporting line - up 54.8% y/y. So I am slightly puzzled how did Modern Sector manage to post 7% growth when all components of the sector are growing at 7% or higher. The answer is, of course, in the CSO not fully reporting exact components of what is included in the Modern Sectors. 
  • On Traditional Sectors side, the biggest gaining sub-sector was "Other Food Products" at 13.2% y/y. Which means that the fastest growing Traditional sub-sector was growing slower than all but one Modern Sector sub-sectors. 
Let's set aside monthly figures, and focus on less volatile quarterly production to recap: in 1Q 2015: there is some growth in the Traditional sectors, but that growth is vastly below the 'miracle' growth recorded in Modern sectors...

Thursday, May 7, 2015

7/5/15: The Surreal Industrial Production in Ireland: Q1 2015


Irish Industrial production figures for Q1 2015 are confirming what has become a serious joke for many analysts: Irish growth figures are now so distorted by various multinational tax optimisation tricks, there is little point looking at much of the GDP and GNP growth coming from the official accounts.

Take a look at comparatives for seasonally-adjusted indices of volume of production across 'Modern' and 'Traditional' sectors:


Year-on-year, Q1 2015 volumes of production rose 31.73% across all Industries. In the Traditional sectors, production increased 13.1%, while in Modern sector production rose 48.7%. Guess which sector is dominated by the MNCs?

Now, take a look relative to crisis period trough:

  • Across industries, since the bottom was hit in the crisis period (in 1Q 2013), production rose 47.3% - implying quarterly rate of growth of 4.96%. 
  • Across Traditional sectors, output rose 20.42%, implying quarterly growth rate of 1.56%; and
  • Across Modern sectors output rose 78.613%, implying quarterly rate of growth of 7.52%.

Guess why is one sector growing at a rate that is almost 5 times the rate of growth in another sector? It can't be due to 'most productive labour force' we allegedly have, for both Traditional and Modern sectors have access to the same labour force. It can't be due to our 'pro-business institutions and culture', for both sectors have equal access to these, presumably. It can't be due to our 'Knowledge Economy', for - setting aside the questionable nature of its existence - both sectors can rely on knowledge in the economy equally. Wait… perhaps it is down to the difference between MNCs ability to access tax optimisation schemes which are down to international accounting methods, whilst traditional sectors firms have to pay the going headline rate of tax on their real activities? For that is, pretty much, the only fundamental long term difference between the two sectors.

But let's drill a little deeper. See the following chart:



What the above shows is the source of growth in the Modern Sectors - aka Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals - a sector that has managed to post growth of 109.2% on trough (from 1Q 2013). Yep, year on year the sector has expanded output by 60.76%. You'd have to wonder - what on earth can propel pharma to these rates of growth? The answer is the 'miracle' of contract manufacturing - a scheme whereby something not produced in Ireland, gets booked as if it was produced in Ireland.

This we call growth. To the amazement of the European politicians and the amusement of the more shrewd investment markets analysts who are starting to laugh at our PMIs, our GDP, our GNP... and so on...

Thursday, October 16, 2014

16/10/2014: Euro Area Industrial Production Losing Momentum... What Momentum?..


A nice chart from Pictet, graphing industrial production in the US against the Euro area:


Everyone is talking about 'fading momentum' in euro area industrial production... my view: what 'fading momentum'? Euro area industrial output has been on a declining trend for more than 36 months now. The 'recovery' from Q1 2013 through Q1 2014 was a blip - so weak in any 'momentum' it is not worth mentioning.

The chart basically shows no gains on output in the sector for the euro area since 2000-2003 averages. If there was any 'momentum' in the series before the last couple of months, would anyone please point it out?

Thursday, August 14, 2014

14/8/2014: Euro Area Industrial Production H2 2014


With stagnant GDP and falling inflation, Euro area is set back into the rot of economic crisis, not that you'd notice as much from the Eurostat headline lauding 'stable' GDP print.

Here is the chart showing the miserable performance of the euro area's industrial production from end-June 2011 through 2014:


A message to Brussels: keep digging, folks...

And here's the same story in terms of average year-on-year growth rates for the last 3 years:


And the last 12 months:

Monday, March 10, 2014

10/3/2014: Industrial Production & Turnover: Q4 2013 & January 2014


CSO released Industrial Production & Turnover figures for January 2014 back last week, and here is an update.

Obviously, we all are familiar with the fact that Manufacturing is booming once again, thanks for PMI signals, but... table above is not exactly cheerful, is it? On an annual production volumes data, activity is down 1.4% and turnover is up only 0.2%. On 3mo basis, production volumes are up just 0.2% and turnover is down massive 5.0%. Ugly...

Let's take the following experiment. Irish industrial production data (monthly series) is pretty volatile. So instead, let's take a look at quarterly data and augment this with the latest available data for running quarter (so for Q1 2014, let's take the only data currently at hand, that covering January 2014). Furthermore, let's look at seasonally-adjusted series to strip out even more volatility. Here are some charts with quick commentary.

Traditional Sectors:


Trend down, but January 2014 is above trend.  Beyond that:

  • Current running quarter is 3.44% up on Q4 2013 and Q4 2013 was up 0.35% on Q3 2013 on volume basis. Current year on year is +6.12% on volume basis. So things might be improving.

Manufacturing:

No above luck with Manufacturing: trend down and we are below trend. Beyond that:

  • By turnover, current Q1 2014 is down 1.37% on Q4 2013 and Q4 2013 was down 3.47% on Q3 2013. Year on year, current is down 2.40%, while Q4 2013 was down 1.76% y/y.
  • By volume, current Q1 2014 is up 0.1% on Q4 2013 and Q4 2013 was down 1.68% on Q3 2013. Year on year, current is down 1.22%, while Q4 2013 was down 0.66% y/y.
Do tell me where those PMIs are now?

Worse, you can't really blame Pharma and Chemicals for this alone. Trend in this sector is down, and we are below trend, but Q1 2014 so far showing a slight uptick"



  • By turnover, current Q1 2014 is down 4.36% on Q4 2013 and Q4 2013 was down 10.19% on Q3 2013. Year on year, current is down 10.60%, while Q4 2013 was down 3.54% y/y.
  • By volume, current Q1 2014 is up 1.39% on Q4 2013 but Q4 2013 was down 5.98% on Q3 2013. Year on year, current is down 2.05%, while Q4 2013 was down 1.58% y/y.
Things are ugly in Pharma, true. But this is not the sole driver of manufacturing.

Modern Sectors aka MNCs that are, allegedly, supposed to benefit from the global upturn:


Trend down, series below trend, shrinking still:
  • By volume, current Q1 2014 is down 0.35% on Q4 2013 but Q4 2013 was down 4.78% on Q3 2013. Year on year, current is down 3.52%, while Q4 2013 was down 1.62% y/y.
Unpleasant. 

Friday, January 10, 2014

10/1/2014: Irish Industrial Production & Turnover: November 2013


Production for Manufacturing Industries for November 2013 in Ireland was up 13.0% on October 2013 and on an annual basis production increased by 15.9%. Turnover rose 1.2% in November 2013 when compared with October 2013 and an annual basis turnover increased by 0.7% when compared with November 2012.

These are big numbers. Which is good news. But they come with huge volatility in the series overall, so better comparative is on 3mo rolling basis. Here things are less pleasant:
- The seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for Manufacturing Industries for the three months September 2013 to November 2013 was 0.1% higher than in the preceding quarter.
- Year on year All Industries production indices for 3 months period through November were still up robustly by 7.3%
- Turnover was 0.2% lower.

Per CSO: "The “Modern” Sector, comprising a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, showed a monthly increase in production for November 2013 of 13.4%. There was a monthly increase of 0.4% in the “Traditional” Sector."

Good news here is that y/y figures for production are up on a 3mo basis. Chemical and pharmaceuticals sector posted 21% rise. Basic metals a gain of 23.9%. But Food products fell 0.3% and Beverages fell 8.3%. Also, Computer, electronic, optical and electrical equipment production shrunk 16.2%.

Poor news came on q/q dynamics side. For September-November 2013, compared to 3 months period through August 2013, Capital goods production was down 3.6%, Intermediate goods production was up just 0.2%, Consumer goods production fell 1.0% with Durable Consumer Goods output down 30.4% and Non-durable Consumer Goods up 4.8%.

Full details here: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/industry/2013/prodturn_oct2013.pdf

Summary:

Monday, February 11, 2013

11/2/2013: Irish Industrial Production & Turnover: December 2012


Still catching up with data updates following a busy week lecturing.

Last week CSO issued data for december 2012 on Industrial Production and Turnover. Here's the detailed breakdown.

On Production volumes side:

  • Index of production in Manufacturing Sectors rose to 112.0 in December 2012 up 11% on 100.9 in November 2012. Year on year index is up 2.85% - anaemic, but at least positive. 
  • However, compared to December 2007 the index is still down although insignificantly at -1.72%. The issue here is that de facto this means that Irish Manufacturing Sectors are static over the last 5 years. 
  • 3mo average through December is down 3.77% on 3mo average through September 2012 and is 7.15% down on 3mo average through December 2011. Thus, longer term dynamics, smoothing out some of the m/m volatility are not encouraging. 
  • On shorter end of dynamics, however, things are slightly better: December reading is 112 and it is well-ahead of 6mo MA of 106.75 and 12mo MA of 108.99.
  • Index of production in All Industries also improved in December to 108.8 up 1.58% y/y and 8.47% m/m.
  • Compared to December 2007 the index is down significantly at -4.26%, which again shows that Industrial activity in Ireland has fallen relative to 5 years ago or at the very least - has not risen.
  • 3mo average through December 2012 is 3.83% behind 3mo average through September 2012 and 7.01% below 3mo average through December 2011.
  • As with manufacturing, shorter end of dynamics is more positive with December 2012 reading at 108.8 ahead of 6mo MA of 105.12 and 12mo MA of 107.19. 
  • Modern sectors activity rose strongly at 9.3% m/m to 120.6 in December 2012, although y/y rise was much weaker at 1.86%. 
  • The index is ahead of December 2007 by a marginal 1.82%.
  • 3mo average through December 2012 is 7.68% below 3mo average through September 2012 and 9.61% below 3mo average through December 2011.
  • Shorter dynamics are not too positive: the current reading of 120.6 is only marginally ahead of 119.82 6mo MA and is below 12mo MA of 124.05. 
  • All dynamics in the Modern Sectors show steep falloff in Pharma activity.
  • Lastly, Traditional Sectors activity returned to contraction in December, falling to 86.9 (-1.3% y/y and -1.25% m/m). The index is now 15.35% below where it was in December 2007. 3mo average through December 2012 is 1.73% down on previous 3mo period and is 1.37% down on same 3mo average in 2011. Worse than that, after posting a surprise uplift in November, the index is now running only slightly ahead of 6mo MA of 85.5 and 12mo MA of 85.13.
  • So on the net, good news is that outside Traditional Sectors time series in volume activity are trending up in last two-three months. Bad news is - we are still off the levels of activity consistent with 2011 and are way off from regaining any sensible growth on 2007.
Chart to illustrate:


On Turnover Indices side:
  • Manufacturing Sectors turnover fell from 101.1 in November 2012 to 97.0 in December 2012, down 3.10% m/m and down 10.76% y/y, both steep declines. Compared to the same period of 2007 the index is now down 9.5%. 3mo average through December 2012 is down 4.35% on 3mo average through September 2012 and is down 6.36% y/y.
  • This index is pretty volatile m/m but overall, 6mo MA is at 98.93 and 12mo MA at 98.33 - both ahead of December monthly reading.


New Orders sub-index for all sectors is trending flat over the recent months (as per chart above) reaching 96.9 in December 2012, down from 100.1 in November 2012, so the index is down 3.2% m/m and it is down even more significant 10.9% y/y. Compared to December 2007 the index is down 11.6%. On 3mo dynamics the index is down 5.04% period on period and 6.7% y/y.

I will blog separately on dynamics in the phrama sector next.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

7/11/2012: A patent cliff or a temporary slide?


In the previous post, looking at the top-line figures for Industrial Production for Ireland, I have promised to look more closely at the dynamics underlying the largest singular exports (goods) driver - the Pharma sector - Basic Pharmaceutical Products and Preparations (BPP&P) sector. Here are some numbers and trends.

An excellent analysis of this is also available from Chris Van Egeraat of NUI Maynooth (link here).

Let's start from the top. Throughout, I use the current figures for September that are subject to potential future revisions.

Production volumes:

  • Index of production volume in Basic Pharmaceutical Products and Preparations sub-sector fell from 165 in August to 107 in September - a decline of 35.15% m/m and down 31.76% y/y.
  • Compared to 2010, the index is now down 29.47%, compared to the peak value for January 2010-present period the index is down 42.41%.
  • Back in September 2011, the index rose 3.36% y/y, so the swing in growth rates is extremely sizable.
  • The declines are much shallower if we look at 3mo MA readings which a more likely to be reflective of the longer trends: for the latest 3 months through September 2012, the index average is down 9.27% compared to the 3 months period through June 2012. The index is also down7.02% compared to 3 months period through September 2011 and 5.93% down on its reading for the period through September 2010. Back in 2011, 3 months average through September rose 0.57% y/y. 
Turnover:
  • Turnover index fell from 136.4 in August to 105 in September 2012 a decline of 23.02% m/m and 27.44% drop y/y.
  • Compared to September 2010, the index is now down 29.72% and compared to the all-time peak activity for January 2010-present period, the index is down 40.10%.
  • Back in September 2011 the index posted a decline of 3.15% y/y.
  • Again, looking at 3mo averages through September 2012 there was a rise in the index of 2.0% compared to 3mo average through June 2012, but a decline of 8.82% on 3mo average through September 2011. Compared to 3mo average through September 2010, current index reading 3mo average is down 11.85%. This contrasts with index 3 mo average through September 2011 declining just 0.9% y/y.
Chart:

There is clearly a steep drop off in both series. And this falloff has a significant impact on our exports and overall industrial sectors activity. 

However, the series are volatile. For example, for January 2010-present, standard deviation in the turnover index for BPP&P sector is 11.82, against standard deviation for manufacturing sector at 3.41. In terms of volume of activity, index standard deviations are 12.61 and 4.42 for BPP&P sector and manufacturing, respectively.

Nonetheless, the drops in September amounted to 4.6 STDEV in Volume and 2.66 STDEV in Value - both are sizable.

A comparable drop in Volume in November 2011 came in at:
  1. Shallower m/m change of 25%;
  2. Was on foot of historical high (August 2012 was the third highest reading in Volume terms) and
  3. Coincided with a monthly rise, not fall, in the Turnover index activity.
Thus, one has to be cautious when attributing the index moves in September 2012 to either volatility or the specific long-term trend change, such as a patent cliff (again, the note linked above from Chris Van Egeraat is spot on in this point).

However, one must be cognizant of the signifiant positive links between activity in the BPP&P sector and overall Manufacturing activity. Chart below illustrates the strength of that relationship:


One has to be also significantly concerned with the fact that we have coincident drops in Turnover and Volume, so the price effects seem to be going the same direction as the volume of activity. In general, there is virtually no meaningful relationship between sector volume and turnover. Strengthening of the link between turnover and volume can be reflective of a structural slide in the overall activity.


As usual, caution is warranted in interpreting the immediate and provisional figures. However, 'slips' like this do matter - both in terms of their immediate impact on GDP and (less so) GNP, and in the light of what we do anticipate - the reduction in overall sector activity in the near future due to patent cliff.


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

6/11/2012: Irish Industrial Production & Turnover: September 2012


There has been a massive, extremely disturbing, albeit alltogether not un-predictable fall off in manufacturing activity in Ireland over September 2012. Here's the CSO statement:

"Production for Manufacturing Industries for September 2012 was 13.9% lower than in August 2012. On an annual basis production for September 2012 decreased by 13.7% when compared with September 2011.

The seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for Manufacturing Industries for the quarter period July 2012 to September 2012 was 4.5% lower than in the preceding quarter.

The “Modern” Sector, comprising a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, showed a monthly decrease in production for September 2012 of 22.4%. The most significant change was in Basic pharmaceutical products and preparations with a decrease of 35.2%.

There was a decrease of 1.3% in the “Traditional” Sector.

The seasonally adjusted industrial turnover index for Manufacturing Industries decreased by 5.7% in September 2012 when compared with August 2012. On an annual basis turnover decreased by 4.5% when compared with September 2011."

More on underlying dynamics:


  • Volume of Manufacturing output shrunk 13.73% y/y and 13.88% m/m. Compared to September 2007, index reading is down 13.89%. Q3 2012 reading is down 4.8% q/q and down 2.82% y/y.
  • Manufacturing activity (in volume terms) now stands at the levels last seen back in December 2009 and is down 2.6% in 2005 levels.
  • 6mo MA through September 2012 is at 110.78, virtually indistinguishable from 12mo MA of 110.98.
  • Volume index for All Industries is now at 96.8 - the level last seen between November and December 2009. The index is down 12.71% y/y and 12.64% m/m. Q3 2012 reading is down 4.52% q/q and down 3.10% y/y.
  • 6mo MA is now slightly below 12mo MA (108.75 v 109.10).
  • The index is at 3.2% below 2005 levels of activity.



  • Modern Sectors volume of activity index has fallen to 105.0 in September, down 18.03% y/y and 22.45% m/m. Activity has fallen to the lowest level since November-December 2009 and compared to September 2007 the index reading is down 8.96%. 
  • Q3 2012 index is down 5.96% q/q and down 1.60% y/y.
  • 6mo MA (127.07) is identical to 12mo MA.
  • Traditional sectors fall-off was less steep, but the index of volume of production here suffered second consecutive monthly decline. The index is down 5.01% y/y and down 1.30% m/m to reach 83.5 reading, lowest since January 2012. 
  • Traditional sectors volume of production is down 22.53% on September 2007 and down 16.5% on 2005 levels of activity.
  • Q3 2012 reading is 1.33% below Q2 reading and down 6.15% y/y.
  • 6mo MA (84.93) is below 12mo MA (85.4).


As the result of the above changes, the gap between Modern sectors activity (volume) and Traditional sectors activity has narrowed dramatically to 21.5 ppt in September against 50.8 ppt in August.



Turnover data signaled narrower reductions in activity, suggesting that some MNCs have accelerated transfer pricing in light of higher producer price inflation (as signaled by recent PMIs):

  • Manufacturing turnover activity fell to 97 in September, down 4.53% y/y and down 5.73% m/m. 
  • Compared to the same period of 2007, turnover is now down 10.08%.
  • Q3 2012 reading is up 3.70% q/q and up 0.36% y/y - once again due to improved price inflation.

New orders index reading slipped to 97 in September, down 3.96% y/y and down 6.55% m/m. Compared to same period 2007, the new orders activity is down 11.31%. Q3 2012 new orders average activity was up 3.59% q/q and up 1.44% y/y. 6mo MA, nonetheless is almost flat at 99.35 compared to 100.00 for 12mo MA.


Employment indices have slipped across a broad range of sectors in Q1 2012 - the latest for which data is reported. Modern sector employment fell to 63,500 in Q1 2012 against 67,100 in Q4 2011. Chemicals and pharma sector employment actually rose to 43,800 in Q1 2012 against 43,300 in Q4 2011, while Computers, electronic and optical products and equipment employment fell from 23,800 in Q4 2011 to 19,700 in Q1 2012. Overall industrial employment in Ireland fell from 201,200 in Q4 2011 to 192,700 in Q1 2012.

Volumes of industrial production in Basic pharmaceutical products and preparations fell 31.8% in September 2012 y/y and were down 35.2% m/m. In turnover terms, activity was down 23.1% m/m and down 27.5% y/y.

I will blog on this in more detail later tonight, so stay tuned.





Saturday, October 6, 2012

6/10/2012: Irish Industrial Production - August 2012



Per CSO:

  • Production for Manufacturing Industries for August 2012 was 0.7% lower than in July 2012. On an annual basis production for August 2012 increased by 0.2% when compared with August 2011.
  • The seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for Manufacturing Industries for the three month period June 2012 to August 2012 was 1.8% higher than in the preceding three month period.
  • The “Modern” Sector, comprising a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, showed a monthly increase in production for August 2012 of 5.1% and there was a decrease of 0.9% in the “Traditional” Sector.
  • The seasonally adjusted industrial turnover index for Manufacturing Industries decreased by 0.1% in August 2012 when compared with July 2012. On an annual basis turnover increased by 0.2% when compared with August 2011.
Here are some more detailed stats and dynamics:




  • Volume of total Manufacturing output was down 3.43% in August compared to same month in 2007 (pre-crisis). 3mo average through August 2012 was up 1.78% on 3mo average through May 2012 and 3.75% ahead of the 3mo average through August 2011.
  • August reading for Manufacturing marks the first m/m decline since February 2012.
  • Volume of production in All Industries in August 2012 was down 4.68% on same period in 2007. 3mo average through August is 1.75% ahead of 3mo average through May and is 2.72% ahead of 3mo average through August 2011.
  • Both Manufacturing and All Industries indicate improved 3mo averages as consistent with modest improvement in output dynamics.
  • Volume of activity in Modern Sectors posted the highest reading since October 2011 and the second highest reading since the beginning of comparable series (January 2006). 3mo average through August 2012 is now 1.26% ahead of the 3mo average reading through May 2012 and is 6.59% ahead of the 3mo average through August 2011. Very strong performance in the sector.
  • In Traditional Sectors, however, volume of activity fell 14.17% y/y and is now down 20.05% on August 2007 level of activity. 3mo average through August 2012 is down 1.78% on 3mo average through May and is down 4.34% on 3mo average through August 2011.
Chart to illustrate:


  • As the result of the above trends, the gap between indices measuring the Volume of production in Modern and Traditional sectors has now widened to 51.5 - the highest reading since the all time record of 56.6 in October 2011.

It is worth noting that Traditional manufacturing sectors are usually associated with higher labour intensity than Modern sectors, implying the disconnection between improvements in overall Manufacturing index (volume) activity and the likelihood of jobs creation acceleration.

Turnover indices:

  • Manufacturing sector turnover dipped marginally in August (-0.1% m/m) but is ahead, also marginally, on the annual basis (+0.19%). The index is down 6.9% on August 2007. 3mo average through August 2012 is 5.28% ahead of the 3mo average through May 2012 and is 3.29% ahead of the 3mo average through August 2011.

Lastly, New Orders index:


  • New Orders index hit the highest reading in 2012 in August, up 3.4% y/y and 1.16% m/m, although the activity is still down 6.8% on August 2007. 3mo average through August 2012 is 5.5% ahead of 3mo average through May 2012 and 3.9% ahead of the 3mo average through August 2011.
The overall activity in the industrial production is clearly stabilizing at the recovery levels, but as noted above this is solely driven by the activity in Modern sectors.


Thursday, March 15, 2012

15/3/2012: Irish Industrial production & Turnover for January 2012

Industrial production & turnover figures are out for January 2012. CSO headline: "Industrial Production increased by 0.7% in January 2012".behind the headline, things are not so rosy. Here are the details.

Industrial production index for Manufacturing rose in volume terms from 109.6 in December 2011 to 110.3 in January 2012 - that's on of the ca 0.7% increases mom. Series are extremely volatile, so stripping short-term effects:

  • Yoy index is down 0.18%
  • Compared to same period in 2007 index is down 3.35% - implying that with all records busting exports, industrial production volumes in Manufacturing remain below pre-crisis levels.
  • Compared to 2005, manufacturing activity is only 10% up
  • Comparing 3mo average for Nov-2011 - January 2012 to 3mo average for Aug 2011-Oct 2011, the index is down 7.5%
  • Comparing last 3mo average to same period a year ago, the index is down 2.9%
Still, good news, index did not fall in January.

All Industries index increased from 107.5 in December 2011 to 108.3 inJanuary 2012 - the core 0.74% rise, but:
  • Yoy index is down 0.5% and it is down 4.2% on January 2007
  • Comparing 3mo average for Nov-2011 - January 2012 to 3mo average for Aug 2011-Oct 2011, the index is down 7.4%
  • Comparing last 3mo average to same period a year ago, the index is down 3.2%
  • In 7 years, Industrial output rose by just 8.3 cumulative in volume
Modern Sectors fared much better - in monthly terms the index went up 4.9% in January 2012, and year on year the index is up 4.1%. That said:
  • Comparing 3mo average for Nov-2011 - January 2012 to 3mo average for Aug 2011-Oct 2011, the index is down 9.5%
  • Comparing last 3mo average to same period a year ago, the index is down 3.2%
  • In 7 years, Industrial output rose by just 27.2% and since January 2007 the index is up 8.5% cumulative in volume
So some shorter-term pain, but overall, nice performance. Of course the trend (as shown in the chart below) is clear-cut and strong.

Traditional sectors continued to take the beating: down from 88.7 in December to 82.2 in January - a mom drop of 7.4% - the steepest in 4 months. The things are bad:
  • Yoy volume of production in Traditional Sectors is down 8.2%
  • Comparing 3mo average for Nov-2011 - January 2012 to 3mo average for Aug 2011-Oct 2011, the index is down 6.1%
  • Comparing last 3mo average to same period a year ago, the index is down 4.2%
  • In 7 years, TraditionalSectors volume fell 18% and since January 2007 the index is down 22.9% cumulative in volume

Relative contribution of Traditional Sectors to the economy compared to Modern Sectors is shrinking and the rate of contraction accelerated in January 2012, as shown in the chart below:


Things are worse on the turnover indices side with price deflation took bites out of the value of our economic activity:

  • Manufacturing sectors turnover fell from 107.8 in December 2011 to 98.1 in January - a decline of 9% mom. It is now down 3.8% yoy and 14.3% below January 2007. The index is down 2% on 2005. Over last 3 months the index actually up on average 2.8% compared to 3mo average for August-October 2011 and 5.0% above the index reading a year ago, back in November 2010-December 2011.
  • Other broader sector - Transportable Goods Industries turnover also fell mom - down 8.8% and is down 3.9% yoy. The pattern of changes is pretty identical to that in Manufacturing.
Looking forward, New Orders index for all sectors came in at a disappointing 98.5 - the lowest reading since April 2011 and 3.7% below January 2011 levels. The index is down 8.9% yoy and 15.8% on January 2007. The historical trend remains firmly downward, but shorter-range trend since january 2010 is strongly up. 



Yoy, New Orders declined 1.9% in Food Products (mom decline of 5.7% in January), rose 5.0% in Beverages (mom rise of 1.2%) and increased 5.5% in Chemicals and Chemical products (+2.7% mom). There was a huge fall off in New Orders in Basic Pharmaceutical Products and Preparations - down 6.9% yoy and 26.4% mom. Computer, electronic and optical products are down 4.3% yoy and 1.2% mom. Do note the patent cliff sighted above - dramatic - and will translate into trade figures as well. Please keep in mind - Government has been saying they have prepared for this.We shall see once trade data & QNAs come in for H1 2012.

So some headline improvements, but overall, weak data.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

11/11/2011: Industrial Production & Turnover - September

Industrial production and turnover figures for September provide some interesting reading. Monthly figures are significantly volatile, so some comparisons are tenuous at best, but overall, despite some downward pressures, the figures are encouraging. Here's why.

Industrial production index for manufacturing has declined from 116.4 in August to 113 in September - monthly drop of 2.92%. Year on year, September 2011 is still up 0.18% although index is down on September 2007 some 0.1%. The average of the 3mo through September 2011 was 2.2% ahead of the average for 3mo through June 2011 and 2.1% ahead of the 3mo average through September 2010. September 2011 reading is ahead of 6mo MA of 112.3 and 12mo MA of 111.7.

All of the above suggests the slowdown in activity in September was not as sharp as we might have expected given the adverse news flow from the rest of the Euro area.

All industries index has fallen from 115.2 in August to 111.2 in September, registering a yoy decline of 0.1% and mom drop of 3.47%. The index is down 1.67% on September 2007. Just as with Manufacturing index, All industries index 3mo average through September 2011 was up 2.59% on previous 3mo period and also up 1.82% on 3mo period through September 2010. The index was also above its 6mo MA of 110.7 and 12mo MA of 110.2. Again, this suggests that the slowdown is still shallow and there is some robustness in the series.

Both indices are still ahead of their readings in July and June. In fact, Manufacturing sub-index is resting at the second highest level since January 2011. The same holds for All Industries index.

Modern Sectors sub-index fell from 130.2 in August to 128.4 in September (-1.38%mom) but is up 1.18% yoy and 11.3% ahead of the reading for September 2007. 3mo average through September is 3.1% ahead of the 3mo average through June 2011 and is 1.8% ahead of the 3mo average through September 2010. The sub-index is ahead of its 6mo MA of 127.3 and its 12mo MA of 126.2. Modern Sector production activity remains at the second highest level since July 2010.


Per chart above, traditional sector production sub-index has fallen to 89.8 in September from 98.5 in August. The overall trend in the sub-sector is uncertain. Massive break out from the long term decline trend in August - with index posting the strongest performance since November 2008 is now followed by a contraction of 8.8% yoy and 1.8% mom in September. However, September reading still rests comfortably above the long term trend line and ahead of 6mo MA of 89.3 and 12mo MA of 89.1. This is the second strongest reading for the sub-index since September 2010.

Having shrunk to 31.7% in August, the gap between Modern and Traditional sectors has widened once again to 38.6%.

In terms of turnover, Manufacturing industries saw a significant decline in overall turnover activity from 104.3 in August to 100.5 in September. The index is now down 0.4% yoy and 3.64% mom. The index is also down 6.8% on September 2007. However, 3mo average through September is up 3.5% on 3mo average through June 2011 and also up 1.2% on 3mo average through September 2010. The good news is that September was the third consecutive month with turnover index at or above 100, which means that September reading is ahead of 6mo MA of 99.9 and 12mo MA of 99.5. But the gap is extremely small.

Transportable goods industries turnover also declined in September 2011 from 103.8 in August to 100.1. Mom, yoy and relative to September 2007 dynamics are virtually identical to those for Manufacturing sector. Similarities persist in comparatives for 3mo averages and for 6m and 12mo MA.

Hence, overall, turnover data is less encouraging than volume data, which is expected during the overall build up of pressures in global trade flows.
Also per chart above, new orders index came in at disappointing 99.6 in September down from 102.1 in August (decline of 1.09% yoy and -2.45% mom). Compared to September 2007 the index is now off 8.93%. 3mo average through September 2011 is 2.1% ahead of the 3mo average through June 2011, but is only 0.1% ahead of the 3mo average through September 2010. Current reading is very close to 6mo MA of 99.52 and to 12mo MA of 99.18.

So on the net, I am reading the numbers coming out for September as rather positive developments, signaling some resilience in Irish manufacturing and industrial production in the face of challenges across the euro area and other core trading partners. Of course, this data requires some confirmation in months ahead before we can pop that celebratory cork...

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

12/10/2011: Euro area industrial production for August

This morning, release of Industrial Production (volume) indices across the EU was interpreted as a positive surprise on the otherwise bleak economic news horizon. To be honest, there is a good reason for this. August 2011 data, compared with July 2011, shows seasonally adjusted industrial production rising by 1.2% in the euro area 17 and by 0.9% in the EU27. In July, adjusted figures show that production grew by 1.1% and 0.9% respectively. Year on year, August 2011 compared with August 2010, industrial production increased by 5.3% in the euro area and by 4.3% in the EU27.

But some details are omitted in the release and become more visible once you look at the updated eurostat database. Here are the breakdowns of numbers:

For All Industries (Mining and quarrying; manufacturing; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; construction) as opposed to eurostat release-focus of All Industries, less construction, the data we have covers only the period through July 2011. Here we have:

  • Euro area production rose 1.8% monthly and 3.96% yoy in July, 
  • Belgium posting an increase of 0.1% mom and 3.13% yoy, 
  • Denmark +1.15% mom and +0.34% yoy
  • Germany -1.04% mom and +7.91% yoy (German data is for August)
  • Ireland -6.73% yoy (latest data is for June)
  • Greece -14.0% yoy (latest data is for June)
  • Spain 1.01% mom and -1.52% yoy
  • France +0.69% mom and +4.98% yoy
  • Italy -1.12%mom and -2.39% yoy
  • Netherlands +2.34% mom and +2.26% yoy
  • Austria -1.3%mom and +4.58% yoy
  • Poland +0.99% mom and +6.10% yoy (latest data is for August)
  • Portugal +1.21% mom and -4.04% yoy (latest data is for August)
  • Finland +0.94% mom and +2.88% yoy (latest data for August)
  • Sweden +0.32% mom and +4.49% yoy (latest data is for August)
  • UK -0.64% mom and -1.30% yoy
Charts illustrate:


Note that euro area average index for 2008 stood at 105.05, declining to 90.73 in 2009 and rising to 94.57 in 2010. 2011-to-date average index is 97.12, still miles below the 2008 levels.

Looking closer at overall index subcomponents. Let's take Manufacturing first.
  • Euro area 17 manufacturing index is up 1.6% mom and 6.44% yoy - strong showing. The index averaged 102.91 in 2011-to-date, against 107.27 average in 2008 and 97.53 average in 2010. Again, it appears we are still way off the 2008 levels of activity.
  • Denmark -4.33%mom and +1.87% yoy
  • Germany -1.01%mom and +9.42% yoy
  • Ireland +3.69% mom and +11.52% yoy
  • Greece -2.63% mom and -11.62% yoy
  • Spain +2.84% mom and +1.03% yoy
  • France +0.74% mom and +5.06% yoy
  • Italy +4.03% mom and +3.56% yoy
  • Poland +2.15% mom and 6.06% yoy
  • Portugal +6.56% mom and +0.10% yoy
  • Finland +3.05% mom and +3.25% yoy
  • Sweden -2.57% mom and +7.65% yoy
  • UK -0.33% mom and +1.52% yoy

Strong showing on manufacturing side is also replicated by robust growth in New Orders sub-index:
  • Euro area up 2.38% mom and +8.47% yoy in August, with 2011-to-date average index at 105.8 against 110.09% 2008 average and 98.84 2010 average. The gap is both narrower and is closing more robustly.
  • Denmark (-4.78%mom), Germany (-0.43%mom), Greece (-0.36%mom), Portugal (-0.17%mom), Sweden (-2.33%mom) and the UK (-0.88%mom) posted monthly declines in the index in August
  • Ireland (+1.4%mom), Spain (+2.44%mom), France (+1.08%mom), Italy (+4.87%mom), the Netherlands (+0.13%mom), Poland (+2.05%mom) and Finland (+2.16%mom) have posted monthly increases.