The industry has put an end to two years of increased sales after the decrease in turnover 8.1% in April compared to the same month last year, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). This evolution is essentially due to the drop in sales of energy and intermediate goodswhich decreased by 30.3% and 13.9%, respectively.
With the year-on-year decrease in April, industry turnover breaks a streak of 25 consecutive months of year-on-year promotions. Together with energy and intermediate goods, which led the setbacks in industrial billing, durable consumer goods also decreased their sales (-8.9%), compared to the increase experienced by capital goods (+5.5% ) and non-durable consumer goods (+1%).
The branches where sales increased the most compared to April 2022 were naval, railway, aeronautical and space construction and combat vehicles (+56.4%), and manufacture of electrical material and equipment except household appliances (+11.7%), while the biggest year-on-year cuts in turnover were recorded by the coke ovens and petroleum refining (-30.3%) and the chemical industry except cleaning and polishing articles, perfumes and cosmetics (-27.2%).
MoM drop
Corrected for the calendar effect and seasonality, the industry turnover decreased by 5.1% in April compared to the same month of the previous year, a rate 15.2 points lower than that of March. In monthly terms (April over March) and in seasonally and calendar-adjusted data, the industry cut its sales by 0.4%, adding up to two consecutive months of falls after having registered in March a monthly decline in its turnover of 2 .8%
All sectors presented negative sales rates in April in the monthly rate, with falls of 4.9% in durable consumer goods, 3.9% in energy, 2.4% in intermediate goods, 0.6 % in capital goods, among the most outstanding.
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The activities that increased their sales the most compared to March in the seasonally adjusted series were the manufacture of other transport material (+29.3%) and the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (+0.4%), while that the largest monthly cuts were recorded in the leather and footwear industry (-15.6%); the textile industry (-9.4%) and the repair and installation of machinery and equipment (-8%).
The turnover of the industry increased last April in three autonomous communities in the interannual rate, while it decreased in the other 14 remaining, with Murcia leading the decreases, where it fell by 20.5%. The greatest increases occurred in the Canary Islands (+7.6%), Navarra (+3.3%) and Madrid (+3.2%). The most pronounced decreases were registered, in addition to Murcia (-20.5%), in Andalusia (-17.3%), Asturias (-14.8%), the Balearic Islands (-11.7%), Cantabria (-10 8%), the Valencian Community (-10.3%) and Aragon (-9.2%).