Romania’s industrial output increased in November 2021 by 0.9% compared to the same month of 2020, but it was still lagging 2.1% compared to November 2019, according to data released by the statistics office INS.

The low base effects thus hide the industrial slowdown that actually hasn’t begun with the Covid-19 crisis and the lockdown period in Q2, 2020 - but was only aggravated by the collapse of the global production chains.

For the whole period January-November, the pattern is even more visible: the 7.5% robust annual growth (compared to the same period of 2020) hides the 3.4% contraction of the industrial output in the first eleven months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2019. 

There exists, however, diversity among the industrial sectors. Industries such as wearing apparel manufacturing (-34% down in January-November compared to the same period of 2019), crude oil refining (-16.4%), car production (-12.1%) or furniture production (-10.4%) have dragged down the overall industrial activity, compared to the pre-crisis period.

In contrast, the winning industries were those of chemical products (+6.1%), food production (+1.7%), tobacco processing (+2.0%), electric equipment (+12.5%) or construction materials (+4.1%). 

As regards the short-term pattern, the seasonally adjusted industrial output has increased in November for the second month in a row by 2.5% MoM.

The 3.1% advance in October-November doesn’t bring the industrial activity up to the pre-crisis period, though.

(Photo: Pexels)

iulian@romania-insider.com