In December 2018, the seasonally adjusted industrial production index is estimated to decrease by 0.8% compared to November. In the fourth quarter as a whole, the level of production decreased by 1.1% compared to the previous three months.
The seasonally adjusted monthly index shows a slight cyclical increase only in the intermediate goods sector (+0.1%); Conversely, consumer goods (-2.9%) and energy (-1.5%) decreased markedly, while instrumental goods recorded no change.
Corrected for calendar effects, in December 2018 the index decreased in trend terms by 5.5% (working days were 19 against 18 in December 2017). On average in 2018, production grew by 0.8% compared to the previous year.
In December 2018, the indices corrected for calendar effects recorded a marked trend decrease for consumer goods (-7.2%) and for intermediate goods (-6.4%); more contained decreases are observed for energy (-4.4%) and capital goods (-3.5%).
All the main sectors of economic activity recorded negative trend changes. The most significant are those of the wood, paper and printing industries (-13.0%), of the textile, clothing, leather and accessories industries (-11.1%) and of the manufacture of articles in rubber and plastics, other non-metallic mineral products (-7.9%).
