International. The slowdown in global manufacturing growth that began at the end of 2017 continued in the first quarter of 2019 due to emerging trade and tariff barriers involving the United States and China, as well as the European Union, affecting investment and future growth, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
The report presented by the organization shows that North America recorded a year-on-year growth rate of only 1.8%, up from 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
In turn, Latin America's year-on-year growth rate remains negative in the first quarter of 2019. The contraction of 1.2% compared to the same period last year was mainly due to Argentina's continued recession and Brazil's decline in manufacturing output.
Europe also has a negative year-on-year growth rate for the euro zone's two leading economies: manufacturing output fell by 2.3% in Germany and by 0.9% in Italy. France and Spain, on the other hand, recorded positive year-on-year growth rates in the first quarter of 2019 (1.3% and 1.1%, respectively).
However, globally, despite the slowdown, production growth in the medium and high-tech sectors remained higher than in the low-tech sectors, a shift towards high-tech manufacturing that indicates that a structural change is underway.
Source: UNIDO.
