China industrial value added down by 2.9% y/y in April 2022
The industry sector has recorded the first negative growth since March 2020. In April, industrial production, measured by value added of industry, shrank by nearly 3% y/y, in sharp contrast with the 5% positive y/y growth observed in the previous month.
The manufacturing sector as a whole plunged by 4.6% y/y despite the fact that high tech manufacturing saw a 4% y/y expansion. Among major industries, the automobile industry was hit hard especially, posting a nearly 32% y/y decline, followed by the general equipment industry with a nearly 16% drop. Even the pharmaceutical industry, which enjoyed double digit growth in a majority of the months since Q4 2020, reported a negative growth of 3.8% y/y, the first negative growth since data are available.
Further data and analysis on China's economy are available on the CEIC China Economy in a Snapshot – Q2 2022 report.