The automotive industry, whose output went up as much as 58.5 percent year-on-year, contributed half of the total growth of industry in March 2021, UniCredit Bank analyst Lubomir Koršňák told TASR press agency on Monday in reaction to figures released by the Statistics Office earlier in the day. The Statistics Office reported that Slovakia's industrial output posted a growth of 24.5 percent year-on-year in March 2021. According to Koršňák, consumer electronics producers posted a significant increase in output as compared to two years ago (up 30 percent). Increases were also recorded in the metallurgical industry (5.8 percent), the engineering industry (2.0 percent), and the food industry (7.1 percent).
"Only two branches of Slovakia's industry showed a year-on-year decrease - the long-term struggling textile and clothing industry by 1.7 percent, and volatile petrochemical industry down 11.7 percent," said the analyst. He expects industry to continue in its positive trend in the upcoming period. Its growth, however, might be temporarily hampered by problems on the bid side, chiefly by a lack of chips in the automotive industry. Other analysts agree: "Slovak firms began to feel problems with the supply of chips in late April, which was fully reflected in the economy only in May, when two carmakers had to delay production. In addition, industrial production is threatened by other problems, such as a lack of transportation capacities, which, along with the growth in fuel prices, is an upward pressure on the price of transport," stated Slovenska Sporitelna analyst Matej Hornak.
