According to the European Commission's ‘Economic Recovery in Industry' report, in EU
manufacturing production, after a very fast initial recovery from the economic crisis,
manufacturing output has stabilized and even fallen back over recent months. In the last three months to November 2011, seasonally adjusted output in EU
manufacturing was one percent lower compared to the preceding three months, but was 0.9 percent higher compared to a year earlier.
Basic metal
production in the EU in the last three months to November 2011 increased 1.5 percent compared to the September-November period of 2010, while fabricated metal products output grew by 2.8 percent in the last three months to November, also year on year. Both basic metal and fabricated metal product outputs in the
European Union were still down 14.1 percent and 16.5 percent respectively compared to the first quarter of 2008.
On the other hand, output in EU
construction has seen no recovery and remains close to its cyclical trough. Trend adjusted
construction output in the last three months to October was just 0.4 percent higher year on year, largely due to the weak performance in the building
construction sector.