Decline in consumer durables production hits factory output

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Friday, said: “The general index for the month of September 2017 stands at 122.7, which is 3.8 per cent higher as compared to the level in the month of September 2016.”

“The cumulative growth for the period April-September 2017 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 2.5 percent.” As per the IIP data, the slowdown on a sequential basis was mainly due to deceleration in consumer durables, mining and electricity outputs.

On a year-on-year basis, the manufacturing sector expanded by 3.4 per cent, whereas mining output was 7.9 per cent and the sub-index of electricity generation expanded - albeit rather slowly - by 3.4 per cent.

Among the six use-based classification groups, the output of primary goods grew by 6.6 per cent, capital goods by 7.4 per cent and intermediate goods by 1.9 per cent. The infrastructure/construction goods output was flat at 0.5 per cent.

In contrast, the output of consumer durables declined by (-)4.8 per cent, whereas consumer non-durables grew by 10 per cent.