Eurozone factory output unexpectedly surges in March
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Thursday 15 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - Industrial production unexpectedly soared in the Eurozone in March, official data showed on Thursday, boosted by strong demand from the US and a resurgent Germany.
According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, manufacturing output rose 2.6% in the Eurozone and by 1.9% across the wider bloc.
Analysts had been expecting a notably more modest 1.8% uplift. Industrial production rose 1.1% in February in the Eurozone.
The largest growth was seen in capital goods output, which sparked 3.2%. That was closely followed by durable consumer goods, up 3.1%, and non-durable consumer goods, which increased by 2.3%. Energy decreased 0.5%.
Among individual members, Germany - the bloc's largest economy - reversed the 0.5% decline seen in March as output rallied 3.1%.
In Spain, production rose 1.0%, and by a far more modest 0.1% in Italy. It also rose by 0.1% in France, notably slower than February's 1.1% increase.
The sector's improved performance helped support GDP, which grew 0.3% in the first quarter in both the Eurozone and EU, according to flash estimates from Eurostat, also release on Thursday.
That was up on the 0.2% on the fourth quarter, though it narrowly missed forecasts for a growth of 0.4%.
The number of employed persons, meanwhile, rose 0.3% and by 0.2% in the EU.
In the fourth quarter, employment increased 0.1% in the Eurozone.
Bert Colijn, chief economist, Netherlands, at ING, said much of the uplift in industrial production could be accounted for by US companies frontloading Eurozone products ahead of Donald Trump's tariff regime being announced on 2 April.
He continued: "So, Eurozone manufacturing seems to have experienced a Cinderella moment in the first quarter. But when the clock struck Liberation Day, it is likely that Eurozone ballgowns turned back to rags.
"We expect weakening demand for Eurozone products to be a theme again, thanks to tariffs and large economic uncertainty. This means that while the manufacturing sector has seen a remarkable upturn in the first quarter, we don't think this is sustainable."
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