Industry - January 2025

Industrial production in January 2025 was in real terms by 0.3% lower, m-o-m. In the year-on-year comparison, it decreased by 0.6%. “The January result of industrial production was only slightly below the level of the previous month as well as of January 2024. The biggest influence came from manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, where a decrease in the segment of manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles continued,” Radek Matějka, Director of the Agricultural and Forestry, Industrial, Construction, and Energy Statistics Department of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), says. The current level of completion of long-term orders had an influence on a decrease in manufacture of other transport equipment, mainly manufacture of rail vehicles. On the othe hand, an increase in production was recorded by manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products; a lower comparison basis in January 2024 also partially influenced the growth rate.

The value of new orders at current prices in surveyed industrial CZ-NACE activities in January 2025 decreased by 1.0%, y-o-y. New non-domestic orders decreased by 1.3%, y-o-y, domestic new orders dropped by 0.4%. In the month-on-month comparison, the value of new orders was by 2.3% lower. “A decrease in the value of newly concluded industrial orders was mainly influenced by manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers. Also manufacture of chemicals and chemical products and manufacture of basic metals contributed to the decrease in orders,” Veronika Doležalová, Head of the Industrial Statistics Unit of the CZSO, comments. The dynamics of growth of the value of new orders in manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products increased. Enterprises in manufacture of machinery and equipment also obtained new orders.

The average registered number of employees in industry decreased by 2.1%, y-o-y, in January 2025.

According to data released by Eurostat, industrial production in the EU27 decreased by 1.7%, year-on-year, in December 2024. The biggest year-on-year decrease was recorded by Austria (by 9.5%) and Italy (by 7.1%). German industry decreased by 4.0%, performance of Czech industry decreased by 2.7%. As for economic activities of industry, the biggest decrease in the EU27 was in manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (by 14.6%) and the highest increase was recorded by manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (by 21.6%). According to a preliminary release calendar, Eurostat will release data for January 2025 on 13 March 2025.