Romania Industrial Production Falls Most in 1½ Years

Industrial production in Romania declined 6.2% year-on-year in September 2026, following a 2.6% drop in the previous month. This marked the sharpest fall since March 2025, driven by a deeper contraction in manufacturing output (-7.2% vs -3.5% in August), particularly in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (-15% vs -6%), electrical equipment (-5% vs 2.4%), machinery and equipment n.e.c. (-18% vs -0.7%), and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (-9.8% vs -5.5%). At the same time, growth in mining and quarrying output slowed to 5.2% from 7.7% in the prior month, reflecting a sharp deceleration in the mining of metal ores (11.4% vs 62.3%) and a steep drop in the mining of coal and lignite (-16.7% vs -6.8%). On a monthly basis, industrial output fell 2.6% in September, reversing a 1.6% increase in August. For the January-September period, industrial production was 3.9% lower than in the same period last year.

Industrial production in Romania fell by 2.7% year-on-year in August 2026, easing from a 6.1% drop in the previous month, which marked a more than one-year low. Activity in mining and quarrying rose to its highest level in more than five years (7.8% vs 1.4% in July), driven by a surge in the mining of metal ores and other mining and quarrying activities, alongside a less pronounced contraction in coal and lignite output. At the same time, output declined at a softer pace in manufacturing (-3.4% vs -7.2%), with notable increases in the manufacture of beverages, computer, electronic and optical products, electrical equipment, and other transport equipment. Contraction also eased in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (-1.2% vs -2.0%). On a monthly basis, industrial production rose by 1.6% in August, rebounding from a revised 1.3% decline in the previous month.

Industrial production in Romania declined 6.1% year-on-year in July 2026, following a revised 5.1% drop in June and marking the sharpest fall since March 2025. Manufacturing output fell further (-7.2% vs -6.0%), with sharper declines in most subsectors, notably coke and refined petroleum products (-27.8% vs -21.6%), basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (-26.2% vs -8.4%), other transport equipment (-28.3% vs -27.2%), computer, electronic and optical products (-20.3% vs 10.5%), chemicals and chemical products (-15.2% vs -14.3%), furniture (-12.4% vs -9.9%), and basic metals (-11.5% vs -5.7%). Meanwhile, output in mining and quarrying rebounded (1.2% vs -0.8%), while electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply contracted at a softer pace (-2.7% vs -3.0%). On a monthly basis, industrial output decreased 1.4%, after a revised 0.5% drop in June. In the January–July period, industrial production was 3.8% lower than a year earlier.