Compared with the previous month, production and investment increased in September, but consumption decreased. Consumption fell despite the payment of the first and second rounds of "consumption coupons," but looking only at the third quarter, consumption rose 1.5% from the previous quarter. That is the highest in 16 quarters.
According to the "September industrial activity trends" released by the National Data Office on the 31st, last month's all-industry production index (2020=100, seasonally adjusted, excluding agriculture, forestry and fisheries) was tallied at 115.5. It was up 1.0% from the previous month, as production declined in mining and manufacturing such as automobiles and machinery and equipment (-1.2%) but increased in services such as wholesale and retail, and finance and insurance (+1.8%).
Specifically, mining and manufacturing production fell 1.2% from the previous month. Despite strong semiconductors (+19.6%), automobiles and machinery and equipment dropped 18.3% and 6.9%, respectively. Manufacturing inventories rose 2.2% from the previous month, and the average manufacturing operating rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 73.4% over the same period.
Service industry production rose 1.8% from the previous month. Production decreased in arts, sports and leisure (-8.4%) but increased in wholesale and retail (+5.8%) and finance and insurance (+2.3%).
Consumption fell 0.1% despite the payment of the second round of "consumption coupons" following the first. Sales of durable goods such as telecommunications devices and computers rose 3.9%, but sales fell sharply for semi-durable goods such as clothing (-5.7%) and nondurable goods such as vehicle fuel (-0.1%). By retail type, sales decreased at supermarkets and variety stores (-9.9%) and hypermarkets (-10.4%), while sales increased in nonstore retailing (+11.6%) and passenger car and fuel retailers (+11.6%).
Broadening to the third quarter, the retail sales value index rose 1.5% from the previous quarter. Lee Du-won, deliberation director for economic trend statistics at the National Data Office, said, "The implementation period for the 'consumption coupons' was July to September, so consumption increased significantly compared with the second quarter," adding, "It is the biggest increase since the third quarter of 2021 (2.0%), and it is showing room for improvement with this quarter as a starting point."
Facility investment increased 12.7% from the previous month as investment rose in machinery and transport equipment. Domestic machinery orders also rose in both the public and private sectors, up 17.7% from the same month a year earlier. Construction completed also increased 11.4% from the previous month as construction performance rose in both building (+14.8%) and civil engineering (+2.9%).
The coincident composite index cyclical component, which shows the current economic situation, rose 0.2 points from the previous month. The domestic demand shipment index fell, but imports and the number of employees in non-agriculture and forestry increased. The leading composite index cyclical component, which signals the future phase of the economy, rose 0.1 points from the previous month due to increases in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the export-import price ratio.