Oct. industrial output up 0.5%

November 30, 2017

Tokyo- Japan's industrial production in October rose 0.5 pct from the previous month, up for the first time in two months, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted production index for the manufacturing and mining sectors stood at 103.0 against 100 for the base year of 2010, the report showed. In the previous month, the index was down 1.0 percent.

The ministry maintained its view that industrial production is showing signs of recovery.

The October result compared with a median forecast of a 1.9 percent rise among 21 economic research institutes surveyed by Jiji Press.

Production rose in eight of the 15 industry sectors covered by the survey.

The main contributor to the increase in industrial production was a 2.5 percent rise of output in the electrical machinery sector, reflecting brisk demand for semiconductor-measuring equipment, as well as air conditioners to meet heating demand.

Output in the transport equipment sector was also solid, rising 0.7 percent, on the back of robust production of major components of automobiles and ships.

But output of chemical products, excluding medical goods, fell 2.9 percent, partly affected by regular repairing and trouble in operations at some factories. Production of oil and coal products shrank 6.4 percent.

Nissan Motor Co. halted vehicle production for domestic shipments at all of its six plants in Japan from mid-October, following revelations that unqualified workers conducted inspections of finished vehicles.

But Nissan's output suspension had "no significant impact" on the country's overall industrial production, a ministry official said. Jiji Press