THEItalian industry remains motionless. On average for the whole of 2011, production did not register any changes compared to 2010, when instead it had grown by 6,4%. Istat communicates it, specifying that in December the seasonally adjusted index of production rose by 1,4% on November, while it recorded a decrease of 1,7% on an annual basis. On average for the October-December quarter, the index fell by 2,1% compared to the previous quarter.
In the last month of 2011, a growth trend was recorded only for capital goods (+3,2%). All the other groupings are down: by 10,3% for energy, by 3,6% for intermediate goods and by 0,8% for consumer goods.
Compared to December 2010, the industry sectors that exhibit more pronounced growth are the mining activity (+11,8%), the manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (+10,1%), the manufacture of computers, electronic and optical products, electromedical equipment, measuring equipment and watches (+7,2%).
Among the sectors in decline, those that record in December the largest trend decreases are the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air (-12,9%), the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-12,0%) and the textile, clothing, leather and accessories industries (-10,9 %).
