Industrial production in the EU fell by 1.6% m/m in January

In January 2026, seasonally adjusted industrial production in the European Union fell by 1.6% compared to December, while in the eurozone countries the decline was 1.5% month-on-month. This is according to preliminary data from Eurostat.

Thus, the negative trend observed at the end of 2025 intensified. According to revised data, industrial production in the EU fell by 0.1% month-on-month in December, and in the eurozone by 0.6% month-on-month, while the preliminary estimate had indicated a deeper decline. At the same time, the decline accelerated as early as January, indicating a weak start for the industrial sector in 2026.

On an annual basis, the trend also worsened. In January, industrial production in the EU was 0.6% lower than a year earlier, and in the eurozone, it was down 1.2% year-on-year. By comparison, in December 2025, the figure still showed growth of 2.3% year-on-year in the EU and 2.2% year-on-year in the eurozone.

Among the major industrial sectors in the eurozone, production of non-durable goods saw the sharpest decline in January, falling by 6% month-over-month. Output of intermediate goods decreased by 1.9%, capital goods by 2.3%, and durable goods by 1.9%. At the same time, the energy sector recorded a 4.7% month-over-month increase. The picture was similar in the EU: production of intermediate goods fell by 2%, capital goods by 2.3%, durable goods by 1.9%, and non-durable goods by 6%, while the energy sector rose by 4.2% month-on-month.

Among member states, the largest monthly declines in industrial production in January were recorded in Ireland (-9.8%), Luxembourg (-4.3%), and Sweden (-4.1%). The highest growth rates were recorded in Portugal (+4.2%), Latvia (+3.3%), and Lithuania (+2.7%). Among the EU’s largest industrial economies, production fell in Germany by 1.3% month-on-month, in Italy by 0.6%, and in Spain by 0.5%, while France recorded a 0.5% increase.

As a reminder, in the third quarter of 2025, greenhouse gas emissions in the EU economy rose by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, to 828 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. EU GDP rose by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, indicating a continuation of economic recovery despite the growing environmental burden.