Industry - March 2025

Industrial production in March 2025 was in real terms by 0.4% higher, m-o-m. In the year-on-year comparison, it increased by 1.4%. “The March growth of industrial production was mainly contributed to by electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, in which a lower comparison basis from the previous year was reflected. Production in manufacturing was stagnating, a slight recovery can be observed, for example, in building materials,” Radek Matějka, Director of the Agricultural and Forestry, Industrial, Construction, and Energy Statistics Department of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), says. A year-on-year decrease of production was recorded, for example, by manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, and by pharmaceutical industry.

The value of new orders at current prices in surveyed industrial CZ-NACE activities in March 2025 increased by 0.9%, y-o-y. New non-domestic orders as well as domestic new orders also recorded a growth by 0.9%. In the month-on-month comparison, the value of new orders was by 2.1% higher. “The value of new industrial orders slightly increased in March, namely thanks to new orders in manufacture of machinery and equipment and in manufacture of other transport equipment, in which significant long-term contracts were contracted,” Veronika Doležalová, Head of the Industrial Statistics Unit of the CZSO, says. The value of new orders decreased, y-o-y (partially due to a higher comparison basis) in manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers and further also e.g. in manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products and in manufacture of chemicals and chemical products.

The average registered number of employees in industry decreased by 2.1%, y-o-y, in March 2025.

According to data released by Eurostat, industrial production in the EU27 increased by 0.6%, year-on-year, in February 2025. The biggest year-on-year increase was recorded by Ireland (by 38.8%) and Lithuania (by 9.1%). Czech industry increased by 1.5%. On the other hand, Hungarian and Bulgarian industry decreased the most (by 8.0% and 4.7%, respectively). Performance of German industry decreased by 3.7%. As for economic activities of industry, the biggest increase in the EU27 was in manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (by 24.4%) and the biggest decrease in manufacture of leather and related products (by 10.9%). According to a preliminary release calendar, Eurostat will release data for March 2025 on 15 May 2025.

For more detailed information on the development of industrial production in the first quarter of 2025, see the supplementary information to the news release on industry.