According to the statistics released by France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the country's manufacturing production in December 2011 decreased 1.4 percent compared to the previous month, following a revised month-on-month increase of 1.4 percent recorded in November.
In December, France's production in manufacture of metals and metal products fell by 1.2 percent, the production of the motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers industry decreased by 1.4 percent, while the output of the construction industry decreased by two percent, all compared to the previous month.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, according to a survey carried out in January among French business leaders, activity in the French manufacturing industry is expected to fall in the coming months.