Argentina Industrial Output Falls in April

Argentina's industrial production fell 5.7% year-on-year in May 2026, following a 2.8% decline in April. Fourteen of the 16 manufacturing sectors posted annual declines. The largest drags came from machinery and equipment (-23.4%), food and beverages (-3.0%), motor vehicles and auto parts (-15.9%), apparel, leather and footwear (-14.7%), textiles (-26.2%), and chemicals (-3.1%). Other sectors posting declines included rubber and plastics (-10.2%), other equipment and instruments (-12.5%), basic metals (-4.0%), furniture and other manufacturing (-7.3%), wood, paper and printing (-2.9%), non-metallic minerals (-2.3%), other transport equipment (-9.9%), and metal products (-1.2%). In contrast, petroleum refining (19.4%) and tobacco products (14.6%) recorded solid growth. On a monthly basis, industrial production rose 0.4%.

Argentina's industrial production fell 2.8% year-on-year in April 2026, reversing a 5% increase in the previous month. Twelve of the 16 manufacturing sectors posted annual declines. The largest drags came from machinery and equipment (-20.2%), textiles (-22.2%), apparel, leather and footwear (-15.9%), basic metals (-11.2%), motor vehicles and auto parts (-10.7%), and food and beverages (-2.4%). Smaller declines were recorded in other equipment and instruments (-11.4%), non-metallic minerals (-6.4%), rubber and plastics (-5.1%), furniture and other manufacturing (-5.1%), metal products (-1.4%), and other transport equipment (-2.1%). Partly offsetting the weakness, output rose in chemicals (16.7%), petroleum refining (5.6%), tobacco products (6.5%), and wood, paper and printing (4.1%).

Argentina’s industrial production rose by 5.0% year-on-year in March 2026, recovering from an 8.6% decline in the previous month. It marked the first month of growth in industrial activity since late June, as ten of the sixteen manufacturing divisions posted annual gains, led by chemicals and chemical products up 15.9%, petroleum refining coke and nuclear fuel up 13.5%, wood paper publishing and printing up 12.8%, metal products up 9.2%, food and beverages up 7.9%, and motor vehicles trailers and auto parts up 7.6%. Tobacco products also surged 28.2%, while non-metallic mineral products increased 6.9%. Meanwhile, major declines were recorded in textiles down 23.3%, machinery and equipment down 11.3%, basic metal industries down 10.1%, and wearing apparel leather and footwear down 8.9%. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, industrial activity rebounded 3.2% in March after falling 3.1% in February, though output in the first quarter remained 2.3% below the same period last year.