GUS reports strong end of year production figures

Industrial production in Poland was up by 11.2% year on year in December, according to the latest figures from Statistics Poland [GUS]. Growth was seen in 28 of the 34 production sectors. These included computers, electronics and optics (up by 39.3%), electrical goods (39.1%), rubber and plastics (24.8%), wood, cork, straw and wickerwork goods (22%), furniture (20.4%), metalwork (15%), and paper and cardboard (14%). Production of durable consumer goods was up by 30.2%, intermediate goods by 17.3%, investment goods by 9.8% and perishable consumer goods by 5%. Year-on-year falls on December production levels were seen in six sectors including for other vehicles [ships, boats, trains and motorbikes], which was down by 12.8%, as well as for coke and refined oil products (down by 4.8%), and metals (3.3%). Generally, production of all goods involved in generating energy was down by 2.7%. Despite the overall strength of the December figures, production was down by 4.4% month on month with 20 sectors recording falls. This included in the automotive sector [motor vehicles, caravans and trailers], which was down by 21.7%, metals by 19.4% and rubber and plastics by 16.1%. Overall, 2020 production figures were down by 1% on 2019, when a rise of 4% had been recorded.