Manufacturing production in Colombia fell 0.8 percent year-on-year in December 2018, following a 4.7 percent gain in the previous month. It was the fist decline in industrial output since March, as production dropped for coke and refined oil products (-7.6 percent vs 11.6 percent in November); machinery & equipment (-16.2 percent vs 12.9 percent); clothing (-12.1 percent vs 12 percent); and other food products (-8.9 percent vs 0.8 percent). Also, output declined further for detergents & perfumes (-12.1 percent vs -1.7 percent) and rose at a softer pace for paper & paper products (9.8 percent vs 15.5 percent). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, manufacturing output went down 3.6 percent, after decreasing 0.6 percent in the prior month. Considering full 2018, manufacturing production advanced 2.9 percent, following a 0.5 percent fall in 2017. Industrial Production in Colombia averaged 2.27 percent from 1981 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 17.70 percent in March of 1998 and a record low of -22.70 percent in March of 1999.
Industrial Production in Colombia is expected to be -0.40 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Industrial Production in Colombia to stand at 2.40 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Colombia Industrial Output is projected to trend around 2.80 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.