Japan 2021 industrial output up 5.8%, still below pre-pandemic level
Japan's industrial output in 2021 grew 5.8 percent from a year earlier but remained below its precoronavirus pandemic level amid a resurgence of infections and a global semiconductor shortage, government data showed Monday.
The seasonally adjusted index of output at factories and mines in 2021 stood at 95.9 against the 2015 base of 100, with the fastest increase since comparable data became available in 2014, following the worst decline of 10.4 percent in 2020, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report.
Although the annual figure logged the first rise in three years since 1.1 percent growth in 2018, the latest production level was far lower than the reading of 101.1 in 2019, before the pandemic began to weigh on the domestic and global economies.
Japan's output recovery was slowed by a global semiconductor shortage and a suspension of parts production in Southeast Asia due to a surge in COVID-19 cases that dealt a blow to the auto industry in the world's third-largest economy, according to a ministry official.
The annual index of industrial shipments rose 4.8 percent to 93.9, while that of inventories was up 5.5 percent at 98.3.
In December alone, the index fell 1.0 percent to 96.5 from the previous month for the first decline in three months, led by weak output of general-purpose and business-oriented machinery, such as water tube boilers and internal combustion engines, as well as production machinery including chip-making equipment.
The December index followed a downwardly revised 7.0 percent increase in November.
The official said the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus that has led to a resurgence of infections in Japan likely had no impact on output in the reporting month.
Based on manufacturers polled in a survey, the ministry said it expects output to advance 5.2 percent in January and climb 2.2 percent in February. It retained its assessment of the data, saying output at factories and mines "shows picking-up movement." Read More…
