Producer confidence improves further in September

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Producer confidence was again less negative in September than it was in the previous month, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Producer confidence stood at -1,6, up from -3.3 in August. Manufacturers were more positive regarding output for the next three months, in particular.

Producer confidence in September remains below the 20-year average of -1.3. It reached an all-time high (10.4) in October 2021 and an all-time low (-31.5) in April 2020.

Producer confidence manufacturing industry (seasonally adjusted)
yearmonthbalance (average of the component questions)
2021October10.4
2021November10.1
2021December7.3
2022January6.5
2022February5.8
2022March5.7
2022April7.2
2022May5.8
2022June4.2
2022July5.3
2022August2.4
2022September1.2
2022October0.9
2022November1.1
2022December1
2023January1.1
2023February0.9
2023March0.9
2023April -0.3
2023May-1.7
2023June-2.7
2023July-2.7
2023August-4.6
2023September-3.9
2023Oktober-3.7
2023November-2.6
2023December-5.7
2024January-4.4
2024February-4.2
2024March-4.8
2024April-3.6
2024May-2.8
2024June-2.4
2024July-2.7
2024August-1.9
2024September-1.7
2024October-3.2
2024November-1.8
2024December-1.6
2025January-1.6
2025February-1.2
2025March-1.5
2025April-3.3
2025May-3.9
2025June-5
2025July-4.9
2025August-3.3
2025September-1.6

Improvements across all components

Manufacturers’ expectations regarding output for the next three months were more positive than in August. They were also less negative about their current stocks of finished products and order positions.

One component of producer confidence was positive: there were more manufacturers expecting an increase in output over the next three months than there were expecting a decrease. However, two other components of the indicator were negative. Manufacturers were more likely to indicate that their order position was weak rather than strong for the time of year, and more manufacturers described their current stock of finished products as large rather than small.

Producer confidence: component indicators (seasonally adjusted)
 September (balance % positive answers and % negative answers)August (balance % positive answers and % negative answers)
Producer confidence-1.6-3.3
Expected output9.46.1
Assessment of stocks of finished products-5.4-6.9
Assessment of order-book levels-8.9-9.1

Producer confidence improves in two-thirds of industrial sectors

Confidence improved in two-thirds of the industrial sectors. Manufacturers in ‘other industries’ (such as repair and installation of machinery and furniture) were the most positive in September. Manufacturers in the paper and printing industry were the most negative.

Producer confidence by sector (seasonally adjusted)
IndustrySeptember (average of the component questions)August (average of the component questions)
Other55.5
Timber and building materials2.9-0.6
Metal0.6-7.4
Food, beverages, tobacco-1.7-1.6
Electrotechnical products and machinery-3.3-6.2
Petroleum and chemicals-3.5-0.5
Textiles, clothes, leather-3.6-7.2
Transport equipment-6.9-7.6
Paper and printing-7.2-7.7

Manufacturing output down by over 1 percent in July

In July, the calendar-adjusted output of the Dutch manufacturing sector was 1.1 percent lower than it was in July 2024. Manufacturing output fell by 1.4 percent relative to June, after adjusting for seasonal and calendar effects.