The domestic sales of manufacturing grew slightly

According to Hungarian Central Statistic Office in July 2008 the industrial gross output increased by 0.6% compared to July 2007, the index adjusted by working days declined by 1.8%.

 The volume of the production was 4.9%
higher in the first seven months of 2008 than in the same period of
the previous year. The volume of industrial production in July –
according to seasonally and by working-day adjusted indices – was
0.2% lower than in the previous month.

The industrial export sales grew by
7.1% in the first seven months and by 0.3% in July compared to the
same period of the previous year. The deceleration of exports in July
was observed first of all among the large enterprises. In the seventh
month of the year the greatest exporter (representing one third in
the export of manufacturing), the manufacture of electrical and
optical equipment had an export volume decline of 7.2%, partly owing
to the Western European recession. The export volume of transport
equipment − the other significant subsection, giving more than one
fourth in the export sales of manufacturing − rose remarkably, by
12.1%.

In January-July the industrial domestic
sales as a whole exceeded the level of the same period of the previous year by 1.8%, and by 0.9% in
July. In the first seven months of this year, the domestic sales of
manufacturing decreased by 0.8%, partly due to the fall of volume in
manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco, having the greatest
weight in domestic sales. The domestic sales of manufacturing grew
slightly, by 0.6% in July.

In July 2008, the output of
manufacturing declined by 0.5% compared to the same month of 2007.
The output of mining and quarrying (having little weight) rose by
18.4%, while that of electricity, gas and water supply was 4.1%
higher than the level of the same month of the previous year.

Among the subsections of manufacturing
having significant weight the production of transport equipment
(giving one fifth of manufacturing) increased to the highest degree,
by 9.1% in July, first of all due to the favourable tendency of
export sales. The output of electrical and optical equipment (giving
almost one fourth of manufacturing) decreased by 4.8%, first of all
due to the decline of demand for radio, television, communication
equipment and apparatus. Similarly to the previous months the
production of food, beverages and tobacco (representing more than one
tenth of manufacturing) fell by 5.9%. Among the subsections, the
manufacture of textiles and textile products suffered the largest
volume decline (26.1%).

In July 2008, the total of new orders
in the observed branches of manufacturing increased by 3.7% compared with the same month in 2007.
The volume of new export orders grew by 4.1%, while that of new
domestic orders rose slightly, by 1.9%. The volume of total stock of
orders exceeded the level of July 2007 by 10.3%.

The labour productivity of industrial
enterprises with 5 or more employees was 4.9% higher in the first
seven months of the year than in the same period of 2007, besides a
0.1% decline in the number of employees.

In the first seven months of 2008, the
industrial production increased to the highest degree, by 7.7% in
Central Hungary among the regions of Hungary compared to the same
period of 2007. Stagnation was recorded in Northern Hungary, and a
fall was observed only in Southern Great Plain (1.7%).