Japan Industrial Output Unexpectedly Falls

2026-09-29 23:54 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Japan’s industrial production fell 1.7% month-over-month in August 2026, deepening from a 0.2% drop the prior month and missing market forecasts of a 1.7% rise, preliminary data showed.

It was the second straight month of monthly contraction and the steepest pace since February, reflecting weaker output across key manufacturing sectors amid softer export demand.

Output shrank for motor vehicles (-6.8% vs 0.8% in July), general-purpose and business-oriented machinery (-6.0% vs 1.9%), and petroleum and coal products (-13.3% vs 8.6%).

In contrast, production grew for production machinery (6.1% vs 5.1%), transport equipment excluding motor vehicles ( 2.9% vs -4.0%), and chemicals excluding inorganic, organic chemicals, and medicine (0.7% vs 0.2%).

On an annual basis, industrial output rose 3.4%, down from 3.9% in July, marking a third consecutive month of growth.



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Japan Industrial Output Unexpectedly Falls
Japan’s industrial production fell 1.7% month-over-month in August 2026, deepening from a 0.2% drop the prior month and missing market forecasts of a 1.7% rise, preliminary data showed. It was the second straight month of monthly contraction and the steepest pace since February, reflecting weaker output across key manufacturing sectors amid softer export demand. Output shrank for motor vehicles (-6.8% vs 0.8% in July), general-purpose and business-oriented machinery (-6.0% vs 1.9%), and petroleum and coal products (-13.3% vs 8.6%). In contrast, production grew for production machinery (6.1% vs 5.1%), transport equipment excluding motor vehicles ( 2.9% vs -4.0%), and chemicals excluding inorganic, organic chemicals, and medicine (0.7% vs 0.2%). On an annual basis, industrial output rose 3.4%, down from 3.9% in July, marking a third consecutive month of growth.
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