8.7% Fall in Industrial Production Confirmed

In February 2025, industrial production was 8.7% below its level of a year earlier, or 8.0% adjusted for working days. Output fell in all manufacturing subsectors, with the largest decline in the manufacture of electrical equipment, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) confirmed in its second estimate released on Friday, MTI reports.

Production dropped in every manufacturing subsection, at the highest rate in the manufacture of electrical equipment. According to seasonally and working-day adjusted data, industrial output was 1.3% lower than in January 2025.

In February 2025:
The volume of industrial production decreased by 8.7% compared to the same period of the previous year. (Compared to the February data published in the first estimate, the data in the second estimate did not change.)

Industrial output in February – according to seasonally and working-day adjusted indices – was 1.3% below the level of the previous month.

The volume of industrial export was 5.5% lower than a year earlier. The manufacture of transport equipment export, representing a 34% weight within export sales in manufacturing fell by 9.4%, while the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products export, accounting for a 13% weight, rose by 0.3%.

Domestic sales of industry decreased by 2.0%, those of manufacturing declined by 8.8% compared to the same month of the previous year.

Within industry, production dropped by 9.5% in the decisive weight (95%) representing manufacturing, it decreased by 4.4% in the small weight representing mining and quarrying, at the same time output grew by 12.3% in the energy industry (electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply).

Output volume in the largest weight representing manufacture of transport equipment, having a 28% share in manufacturing, fell by 10.4% compared to the same month of the previous year. Motor vehicles manufacturing dropped by 14.1%, the manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles declined by 8.3%.

The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, accounting for 10% within manufacturing output decreased – least of all among the subsections –by 0.6%. Considering the two largest groups, the manufacture of electronic components and boards declined by 6.3%, the manufacture of computers and peripheral equipment rose by 1.0%.

The manufacture of electrical equipment, representing an 8.9% weight in manufacturing lagged behind the most among the subsections, by 24%, year-on-year. In the two largest weight representing groups production volume in the manufacture of batteries and accumulators fell by 37%, in the manufacture of electric motors, generators, transformers and electricity distribution and control apparatus dropped by 17.1%.

The manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products, having a 12% share in manufacturing, was 5.8% lower than in the same month of the previous year, due to a decrease in both domestic and export sales. Processing and preserving meat and the production of meat products, representing the largest weight (23%), declined by 1.8% compared to February of the previous year. Production decreased between 0.5% and 25% in six other groups, too, least of all in the manufacture of grain mill products, starches and starch products, most of all in the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats. Output grew between 2.9% and 37% in the other four groups, at the highest rate in processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, having a very small weight, least of all in the manufacture of bakery and farinaceous products.

Out of the two medium weight representing subsections the manufacture of rubber and plastics products and other non-metallic mineral products declined by 5.5%, the manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment dropped by 15.8% year-on-year.

Following the previous four months’ growth, the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, accounting for a 5.6% weight within manufacturing, was 2.5% lower than a year earlier, domestic sales dropped, export ones rose.

Similarly to the previous month the manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. fell by 9.6% compared to February 2024, decreases were recorded in the great majority of classes.