Japan Industrial Output Falls for First Time in 3 Months

2026-03-31 00:06 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Japan’s industrial production declined 2.1% month-over-month in February 2026, matching market estimates and reversing a 4.3% growth in the previous month, flash data showed.

It marked the first drop since last November, dragged by lower output for motor vehicles (-3.6% vs 8.1% in January), fabricated metals (-5.9% vs 6.0%), and electronic parts and devices (-3.1% vs 1.9%).

In contrast, production grew for iron, steel and non-ferrous metals (2.3% vs 2.3%), chemicals, excluding inorganic, organic chemicals, and medicine (1.3% vs 3.1%), and pulp, paper and paper products (1.6% vs 0.7%).

On an annual basis, output grew 0.3%, accelerating from a 0.7% rise in January and pointing to the third straight month of increase.



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Japan Industrial Output Falls for First Time in 3 Months
Japan’s industrial production declined 2.1% month-over-month in February 2026, matching market estimates and reversing a 4.3% growth in the previous month, flash data showed. It marked the first drop since last November, dragged by lower output for motor vehicles (-3.6% vs 8.1% in January), fabricated metals (-5.9% vs 6.0%), and electronic parts and devices (-3.1% vs 1.9%). In contrast, production grew for iron, steel and non-ferrous metals (2.3% vs 2.3%), chemicals, excluding inorganic, organic chemicals, and medicine (1.3% vs 3.1%), and pulp, paper and paper products (1.6% vs 0.7%). On an annual basis, output grew 0.3%, accelerating from a 0.7% rise in January and pointing to the third straight month of increase.
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