Home breadcru News breadcru Industrial breadcru Dutch manufacturing industry faces continued decline in January 2024

Dutch manufacturing industry faces continued decline in January 2024

14 Mar '24
2 min read
Pic: Adobe Stock
Pic: Adobe Stock

Insights

  • The Dutch manufacturing industry's output declined by 5.5 per cent in January 2024 year-on-year, continuing a downward trend from the previous nine months.
  • Seasonally adjusted, output dropped 4.7 per cent from December to January.
  • Despite slight improvements in manufacturer sentiment in February, challenges remain, particularly regarding the order book.
The Dutch manufacturing industry experienced a significant downturn in January 2024, with the calendar-adjusted output falling by 5.5 per cent compared to January 2023, as reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This decline marks a continuation of the contraction seen over the previous nine months of 2023, affecting most industries within the sector.

When adjusting for seasonal and calendar effects, the manufacturing output in January decreased by 4.7 per cent compared to December. A sharp decline was noted in spring 2020, bottoming out in May 2020, followed by a recovery trend that lasted until May 2022. Since then, the trend has reversed, indicating a downturn in the industry, as per CBS.

Despite the overall negative trend, Dutch manufacturers showed a slight improvement in sentiment in February compared to January, particularly with a more positive outlook on expected output. However, concerns about the order book deepened, reflecting ongoing challenges in the sector.

The performance of the Dutch manufacturing industry is closely linked to that of Germany, a key market for Dutch manufactured goods. In February, German entrepreneurs expressed more pessimism than in the previous month. According to Destatis, the German manufacturing industry's calendar-adjusted output decreased by 5.4 per cent year-on-year in January, although it saw a 1 per cent increase compared to December.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DP)

Get Free Weekly Market Insights Newsletter

Receive daily prices and market insights straight to your inbox. Subscribe to AlchemPro Weekly!