Fri, Feb 16th 2024
Swiss industrial output contracts in Q4 despite turnover gains, highlighting the sector’s complex economic dynamics. Industry resilience contrasts with construction challenges.
Swiss industry contracted in the fourth quarter. Following an increase in the third quarter, production has now fallen again. However, turnover increased.
In the secondary sector of the economy, i.e. industry and construction, total production fell by 0.6% year-on-year between October and December 2023, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Friday. Sales, on the other hand, grew by 2.7%.
Industrial production fell by 0.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. It rose by 0.8% in October, but fell in November (-1.2%) and December (-0.3%). Meanwhile, sales rose by 3.4% over the quarter as a whole, with the most significant increase in December (+4.2%).
Overall, industry performed slightly better than the construction industry. This is because production in the construction industry fell by 1.8%. Both building construction and civil engineering were responsible for this, with declines of 9.5% and 6.8% respectively. However, other construction increased production by 2.5 percent.
Turnover in the construction industry fell by 0.5% overall. The decline was particularly strong in building construction (-9.5%), but civil engineering (-4.6%) also saw a drop in turnover. Meanwhile, other construction increased turnover by 4.7%.
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