Seasonally-adjusted industrial production in the European Union member states (EU-27) in December 2009 dropped 1.9 percent month on month, according to a report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In November industrial production in the region had risen by 0.9 percent over October, reaching its highest level since November 2008.
On the other hand, compared with December 2008, industrial production in the EU-27 in December 2009 declined by 13.9 percent.
In December 2009, production of durable consumer goods in the EU-27 increased by 0.4 percent month on month and was down 3.7 percent year on year, while production of capital goods decreased by 2.4 percent over November and declined by 11.4 percent compared to December 2008. Production of intermediate goods dropped by 2.6 percent in December 2009 compared to November, but was down 1.1 percent over the same month of the previous year. In addition, production of energy in the EU-27 increased by 1.2 percent month on month, while the year-on-year drop was 4.5 percent.
Among the member states for which data are available, in December industrial production rose in six member states and fell in twelve other member states, compared to November. The highest month-on-month increases were registered in Lithuania with 2.3 percent, in Portugal with 0.7 percent and in UK with 0.6 percent; meanwhile, the most significant declines were observed in Denmark with 5.2 percent and in Ireland and Latvia, both with 4.2 percent.