In January of this year, the overall industrial production, investment, and consumption in the country all decreased compared to the previous month. It is the first time since November of last year that a 'triple decline' in production, investment, and consumption has occurred.
In particular, concerns are emerging that the construction economy is weakening. With a decline in construction performance in both civil engineering and architecture, the growth rate of construction output, which indicates construction performance, recorded its lowest decline in 10 months compared to the previous month.
According to the 'January 2025 Industrial Activity Trend' released by the Statistics Korea on the 4th, the overall industrial production index (seasonally adjusted, excluding agriculture, forestry, and fisheries) for January was 111.2 (2020=100), a decrease of 2.7% compared to the previous month. Overall industrial production switched to a decline after a 1.7% increase in December of last year.
First, mining and manufacturing production decreased by 2.3% compared to the previous month. While there was an increase in other transport equipment, there was a decline in machinery and electronic components. The manufacturing sector also suffered due to poor performance in machinery and electronic components. Manufacturing inventory decreased by 0.3% compared to the previous month, primarily in electrical equipment and machinery. The manufacturing inventory rate (inventory ÷ shipment ratio) rose by 6.5 percentage points to 110.1% from the previous month.
Service industry production decreased by 0.8% compared to the previous month. While there was an increase in information and communications, there was a decline in wholesale and retail, and transportation and warehousing. Information and communications, health and social welfare, and real estate increased by 4.7%, 1.4%, and 1.7%, respectively.
One indicator showing domestic conditions, retail sales, which refer to the trend of goods consumption, decreased by 0.6% compared to the previous month. Sales of durable goods, such as passenger cars, increased by 1.1%, but sales of non-durable goods, such as food and beverages, and semi-durable goods, such as clothing, decreased by 0.5% and 2.6%, respectively.
Facility investment decreased by 14.2% compared to the previous month. This is attributed to a decline in investment in machinery for semiconductor manufacturing and transport equipment. Construction output, which indicates construction performance, decreased by 4.3% compared to the previous month due to declines in both civil engineering and construction sectors.
The coincident index, which shows the current economy, stood at 98.4, down by 0.4 points. The leading index, which forecasts the future economy, also fell by 0.3 points to 100.4 compared to the previous month.