When comparing year-to-year developments among the leading eurozone economies, Italy registered a 2.8 per cent growth followed by Germany with a growth rate of nearly a 1.0 per cent. No growth was observed in France. The growth figures for the majority of eurozone countries were positive, with strong growth performances observed in Slovenia, Cyprus and Greece. Manufacturing output rose by more than 2.2 per cent in the Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania and Belgium, but Ireland and Portugal witnessed a lower growth rate at 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. The decrease in Ireland’s manufacturing output reflected post-Brexit volatility, but was also attributable to a high comparison threshold based on the country’s remarkable manufacturing expansion in 2015.

Beyond the eurozone, manufacturing output growth in the third quarter in the United Kingdom dropped to a marginal rate of 0.5 per cent in the aftermath of Brexit. The pace of growth also slowed in some industrialized Central European countries such as the Czech Republic and Hungary. Industrial production in Switzerland grew 2.4 per cent, reversing the decline registered in previous periods. The manufacturing output of East European countries achieved relatively higher growth. Manufacturing output rose by 4.6 per cent in Poland and Romania, 4.1 per cent in Bulgaria and 4.9 per cent in Serbia.

Among the Nordic economies, Norway’s manufacturing sector has taken a long-term hit due to falling oil prices and continued its downward trajectory in the third quarter of 2016. 

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