Manufacturing Sector Drives India's Factory Output to 3-Month Low

New Delhi: India's factory output touched a three-month low of 5% in April, the Index of Industrial Production data released by the National Statistical Office shows.

The Index of Industrial Production or IIP growth rate for the month of April 2024 over the corresponding period of previous year is 5%, the NSO found. The IIP growth rate in April 2023 was 4.6%.

The growth rates of the three sectors, Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity for April 2024 over April 2023 are 6.7%, 3.9% and 10.2%
respectively.

Manufacturing accounts for 77.6% of the weight of the IIP, Indian Express noted in its report, attributing the lowering to the slowdown in manufacturing growth.

The report notes that factory output growth was 5.4% in March and 5.6% in February 2024. The previous low of IIP was recorded at 4.2% in January, 2024.

Business Standard, meanwhile, credited the "good show by mining and power sectors"

Within the manufacturing sector, the growth rate of the top three positive contributors to the growth of IIP for the month of April 2024 are manufacture of basic metals (8.1%), manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (4.9%), and manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (11.4%).

Monthly indices and growth rate (in %) of IIP for the last 13 months. Source: Quick estimate of IIP and use-based index for April, 2024, NSO.

The corresponding growth rates of IIP as per use-based classification in April 2024 over April 2023 are 7% in primary goods, 3.1% in capital goods, 3.2% in intermediate goods, 8% in infrastructure or construction goods, 9.8% in consumer durables and -2.4% in consumer non-durables.

Based on use-based classification, the NSO finds that the top three positive contributors to the growth of IIP for the month of April 2024 are primary goods, infrastructure or construction goods and consumer durables.

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