The index of industrial production (IIP) in April of 2024 increased by an estimated 0.8% compared to the previous month and by 6.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office on the morning of April 29. Within this, the manufacturing sector grew by 7.0%, electricity generation and distribution increased by 11.3%, and water supply, waste and wastewater management activities rose by 6.6%, while the mining sector declined by 6.8%.
For the first four months of 2024, the IIP is estimated to have increased by 6.0% year-on-year (a decline of 2.5% in the same period of 2023). The manufacturing sector grew by 6.3% (a decline of 2.9% in the same period of 2023), contributing 5.5 percentage points to the overall increase. Electricity generation and distribution grew by 12.3% (a decline of 0.2% in the same period of 2023), contributing 1.1 percentage points. Water supply, waste and wastewater management activities increased by 5.3% (an increase of 6.2% in the same period of 2023), contributing 0.1 percentage points. The mining sector declined by 4.6% (a decline of 3.7% in the same period of 2023), reducing the overall growth by 0.7 percentage points.
The report also noted that the industrial production index for the first four months of the year increased year-on-year for several key sectors, including: rubber and plastic products (up 27.5%), electrical equipment (up 24.7%), chemical production and chemicals (up 24.3%), furniture production (up 17.3%), metal ore mining (up 16.9%), textiles (up 14.5%), printing and copying services (up 13.6%), metals (up 13.0%), electricity, gas, hot water, steam, and air conditioning production and distribution (up 12.3%), tobacco products (up 9.1%), paper and paper products (up 9.0%), and electronic products, computers, and optical products (up 2.7%).
On the other hand, the IIP for several sectors declined, including machinery and equipment repair, maintenance, and installation (down 15.4%), crude oil and natural gas extraction (down 9.6%), other transportation equipment manufacturing (down 5.1%), other non-metallic mineral products manufacturing (down 2.5%), and anthracite and lignite mining (down 1.2%).
Regarding industrial production in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 across different localities, the report recorded increases in 54 localities and decreases in 9 localities nationwide.
Some localities with high IIP growth rates due to strong growth in the manufacturing sector include Phu Tho (up 29.6%), Bac Giang (up 24.1%), Ha Nam (up 15.5%), and Binh Phuoc (up 15.2%). Localities with high growth rates in electricity generation and distribution include Khanh Hoa (up 593.5%), Tra Vinh (up 144.7%), and Thanh Hoa (up 30%).
In contrast, some localities had low or negative IIP growth rates due to low or negative growth in the manufacturing sector, such as Ha Tinh (down 9.0%), Ca Mau (down 5.6%), and Gia Lai (up 0.5%).
Localities with low or negative growth rates in electricity generation and distribution for the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year include: Hoa Binh (down 51.7%), Son La (down 46.2%), Quang Ninh (down 23.7%), and Lai Chau (down 16.6%).
Localities with negative or low growth rates in the mining sector for the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year include: Ha Giang (down 62.0%), Lam Dong (up 1.8%), and Ca Mau (up 5.0%).
During the first four months of 2024, several key industrial products increased in production compared to the same period of the previous year: steel bars and angles (up 35.7%), natural fiber fabrics (up 25.1%), urea fertilizer ( up 23.0%), rolled steel (up 16.9%), NPK compound fertilizers (up 15.7%), chemical paint (up 13.9%), powdered milk (up 11.8%), and electricity generation (up 11.4%).
Conversely, some products experienced declines in production compared to the same period of the previous year: liquefied gas (down 20.4%), natural gas in gaseous form (down 14.8%), televisions (down 11.1%), iron and crude steel (down 7.9%), telephone components (down 7.2%), automobiles (down 6.6%), motorcycles (down 4.5%), crude oil extraction (down 3.6%), mobile phones (down 2.8%), beer (down 2.5%), clean coal (down 1.2%), and animal feed (down 0.8%).
Regarding the labor force employed in industrial enterprises as of April 1, 2024, it increased by 1.2% compared to the previous month and by 3.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. Within this, the corresponding rate for non-state enterprises increased by 0.7% and 0.2%, foreign-invested enterprises increased by 1.5% and 5.0%, while state-owned enterprises remained unchanged and decreased by 1.2%, respectively.
By industry, the number of employees in mining enterprises decreased by 0.1% compared to the previous month and increased by 0.5% compared to the same period of the previous year. The corresponding rate for the manufacturing sector increased by 1.3% and 3.6%, for electricity, gas, hot water, steam and air conditioning generation and distribution increased by 0.1% and 0.6%, and for water supply, waste and wastewater management activities decreased by 0.2% and increased by 0.1%, respectively.
