Overview
- Fisfe reports that without the exceptional soybean‑oil performance, provincial industrial output would have dropped 6.1% year on year, with 70% of branches in decline.
- Key manufacturing lines fell sharply in August: vehicles down 53.4%, steel 19.2%, metal products 19.2%, agricultural machinery 13.4% and autoparts 8%.
- Costlier credit, weakening trade and soft demand weighed on activity, with the Badlar rate up from 38% to 58%, exports down 8.6% and imports up 43.3%.
- Steel output marked its weakest August in 17 years and large industrial users’ electricity demand fell 4.9% year on year, underscoring underused capacity.
- Industry added 4.5% year to date versus 2024 yet remains 10.1% below 2022 levels, and national registered manufacturing employment fell 0.9% in June as job losses persist.