Industrial production rises 2.6% year-over-year in March in Mexico

Photo: Reuters

This figure resulted from increases, based on original figures, in manufacturing industries (3.6%), construction (3%), and generation and transmission of electricity, water, and gas (2.8%). 

Industrial production in Mexico rose 2.6% year-on-year in March because of growth in manufacturing, construction, and energy, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI for its acronym in Spanish) reported last Thursday.

This figure resulted from an increase, based on original figures, in manufacturing industries (3.6%), construction (3%), and generation and transmission of electricity, water, and gas (2.8%).

It was offset by the drop in mining (-1.3%), according to the agency in a press release. Thus, in the first quarter of the year, industrial production grew by 3.1% year on year.

This results from increases in manufacturing (4.7%), mining (2.3%) and electricity generation, and water and gas supply (4.7%), with a 0.1% drop in construction.

In seasonally adjusted figures, industrial activity increased by 0.4% in March concerning the previous month following increases of 3.7% in construction and 2.3% in electricity, water, and gas, offset by decreases of 0.6% in mining and 0.2% in manufacturing.

With this monthly advance, industrial production reversed the previous month’s contraction and reached the highest level since February 2020, according to the historical record available.

In 2021, industrial production rebounded 6.5% versus 2020, when there was a 10% plunge because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

That substantial 2020 drop came on top of a 1.8% decline in 2019, reflecting Mexico’s economic weakness.

Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.8% in 2021, below the government’s 6% expectations, after contracting by 8.2% in 2020, its worst slump since the Great Depression of 1932.

In 2019, the decline in GDP was 0.3%. By 2022, most institutions and analysts estimate that Mexico’s economy will grow by around 2%. While the Ministry of Finance estimates that the economy will grow by 3.4%.

 Source: Forbes Staff. (2022, May 12). Producción industrial sube 2.6% interanual en marzo en México. Forbes México. Retrieved May 12, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com.mx/produccion-industrial-sube-2-6-interanual-en-marzo-en-mexico/