INSIGHTS
- In July 2023, Dutch manufacturing saw an 8.3 per cent YoY decrease in daily output, continuing a downward trend seen in prior months, according to CBS.
- Dutch manufacturers anticipate further declines, reflecting the first negative outlook since 2020.
- Similarly, Germany, a vital market for Dutch manufacturing, witnessed a drop in business confidence.
In July 2023, the Dutch manufacturing industry suffered an 8.3 per cent decrease in its average daily output compared to the same month in the previous year, a trend that has been persistent in the earlier months of 2023 as well, according to data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). On a month-on-month basis, a slight contraction in manufacturing output was observed, with a decrease of 0.6 per cent from June to July 2023, after adjustments for seasonal and working-day effects were considered.
Dutch manufacturers exhibited a negative outlook in August, marking the first occurrence of such sentiment since 2020. This pessimism primarily stems from a bleak projection over the expected output in the upcoming three months, as per CBS.
Drawing attention to Germany, a pivotal market for the Dutch manufacturing industry, the scenario seems to echo the Dutch predicament. German entrepreneurs demonstrated diminished confidence in August, a sentiment supported by Eurostat data. Further, the German manufacturing sector reported a decline in the average daily output by 1.3 per cent year-on-year in July. Moreover, Destatis highlighted a 1.8 per cent reduction in output in July as compared to June.
