In March 2020, the COVID-19 containment measures widely introduced by EU nations had a significant impact, as industrial production fell by 11.3% in the euro area and by 10.4% in the EU, compared with February 2020, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In February 2020, industrial production fell by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU.
In March 2020 compared with March 2019, industrial production decreased by 12.9% in the euro area and by 11.8% in the EU.
In the euro area in March 2020, compared with February 2020, production of durable consumer goods fell by 26.3%, capital goods by 15.9%, intermediate goods by 11.0%, energy by 4.0% and non-durable consumer goods by 1.6%.
In the EU, production of durable consumer goods fell by 23.8%, capital goods by 15.1%, intermediate goods by 9.9%, energy by 3.5% and non-durable consumer goods by 1.2%.
Italy tops industrial production decline
Among Member States for which data are available, the largest decreases in industrial production were registered in Italy (-28.4%), Slovakia (-20.3%) and France (-16.4%).
The highest increases were observed in Ireland (+15.5%), Greece and Finland (both +1.9%) and Lithuania (+0.7%).
