- Export uncertainty could influence future manufacturing output
- Upstream resilience offsets manufacturing slowdown
MySteel Global: China’s industrial output grew at the slowest pace since September 2024 in November, as export uncertainties and the continued anti-involution push tempered production momentum.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that, the output of large-scale industrial enterprises grew by 4.8% year on year in November, slowing by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, marking the slowest growth since September 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, industry output grew 0.44% in November, accelerating by 0.27 percentage points from the previous month, indicating marginal acceleration in industrial production.
In November, among the three major industrial sectors, manufacturing output grew 4.6% year on year, slowing by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month and 0.2 percentage points below the overall industrial growth rate, marking a shift from the past three years when manufacturing was the primary driver of industrial expansion.
In the same month, output in electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply grew 4.3%, slowing by 1.1 percentage points from October, while mining output growth accelerated by 1.8 percentage points to 6.3%.
Among 41 major industrial categories, 30 recorded year-on-year growth in November, one more than in the previous month. Upstream industries generally accelerated, with output in the coal mining and washing, oil and natural gas extraction, and non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling growing by 7.5%, 5.1%, and 4.8% year on year, respectively, while in contrast, the growth of ferrous metal smelting and rolling slowed to 0.9%.
In the manufacturing sector, automobile production rose 11.9% year on year, slightly lower than the previous month but maintaining double-digit growth for three consecutive months. Growth in computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing edged up by 0.3 percentage points to 9.2% year on year.
Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the NBS, said at a press conference that, driven by the continued implementation of policies supporting major projects, equipment renewal and industrial upgrading, output in equipment manufacturing rose 7.7% on year in November, contributing 59.4% to total industrial output growth.
Among the 623 products of large-scale industrial enterprises, 310 recorded year-on-year production increases in November, three fewer than the previous month, partly dampened by the deepening “anti-involution” campaign.
Solar cell production fell year on year for the third consecutive month, though the decline narrowed to 3% in November. New energy vehicle output continued to grow rapidly by 17% year on year, though slowing by 2.3 percentage points from the previous month, marking three consecutive months of deceleration.
In November 2025, the nominal export delivery value of large-scale industrial enterprises fell slightly by 0.1% y-o-y, marking a second consecutive month of decline. However, the drop narrowed from the previous month, reflecting continued uncertainty in exports that could influence future manufacturing output. That month, the product sales rate of industrial enterprises stood at 96.5%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month but 0.8 percentage points lower than the same period last year.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.
Leave a Reply