Euro area industrial production increases 0.7 percent, while EU27 grows 0.9 percent between May and June, suggesting gradual economic recovery.
New statistics have been released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, showing that industrial production in Europe experienced growth in June 2013 compared to both the previous month and the same month a year earlier.
The euro area saw a 0.7 percent increase in industrial production between May and June 2013 and a 0.3 percent increase compared with June 2012, while production in the European Union (EU27) grew 0.9 percent in June compared to the previous month and 0.4 percent compared to June 2012.
Production of durable consumer goods saw the biggest monthly growth, increasing by 4.9 percent in the euro area and 4.2 percent in EU27, with a slight annual growth in EU27 of 0.1 percent. However, it experienced an annual decline of one percent in the euro area.
Production of capital goods saw monthly and annual increases; while intermediate goods saw monthly growth in both the euro area and EU27 but declined by 1.3 percent and 0.7 percent respectively compared to the previous year. Non-durable consumer goods meanwhile fell by 0.6 percent and 0.3 percent respectively between May and June 2013, and by 1.1 percent and 0.5 percent compared to June 2012.
In terms of countries, Ireland, Romania, Poland, Germany and Greece all saw the biggest monthly increases of between 2.5 percent (Germany and Greece) and 8.7 percent (Ireland); while Romania, Poland and Estonia experienced the biggest annual growth of 9.6 percent, 5.3 percent and 4.7 percent respectively.
The largest monthly decreases were recorded in the Netherlands, Portugal and France, where production fell 4.1 percent, 2.8 percent and 1.5 percent respectively; while Finland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic experienced the largest annual decreases of 5.9 percent, 4.4 percent and three percent respectively.
Commenting on the statistics, ETIRA Secretary General Vincent van Dijk, said: “For a short time, the overall atmosphere in Europe has been shifting towards a more positive trend, and the better general economic development is the biggest catalyst for the aftermarket industry to pick up.
“That’s how it works in the economy – if reports are showing that things are picking up, it’s generally a good sign for our industry. Many companies in the industry are still struggling, of course, but others are doing well. Also, the fact that OEM prices are rising is good for the remanufacturing industry as we can begin to follow suit.”
The Recycler has reported on the growth of the UK’s manufacturing industry this year, with the strongest monthly growth since the end of 2010 recorded in June; while the UK economy was reported to have grown by 0.6 percent in the second quarter of the year.