Dutch factory output climbs 12.0% from a year earlier, biggest rise in over four years
Statistics Netherlands said August manufacturing output rose in more than six of ten sectors, led by machinery, while producer confidence improved again in September.
AI illustrationDutch manufacturing output in August 2026 was 12.0 percent above its level a year earlier on a calendar-adjusted basis, Statistics Netherlands said. The statistics office described it as the largest increase in over four years. In July, the year-on-year rise had been 9.3 percent.
Output grew in more than six out of ten of the underlying manufacturing sectors compared with last year. Among the eight largest sectors, machinery again posted the biggest gain, with output up 45.1 percent. Transport equipment rose 8.3 percent, repair and installation of machinery 4.7 percent, metal products 1.9 percent, electrical and electronics 1.1 percent and food products 0.9 percent. The chemical industry recorded the steepest decline, at 4.1 percent, while rubber and plastic products fell 3 percent. Together these industries account for almost 80 percent of total manufacturing output, according to the office.
After adjustment for seasonal and working-day effects, output was 3.3 percent higher in August than in July. The office said this adjusted measure gives a more accurate picture of short-term changes, though it often fluctuates significantly. It reported that manufacturing output reached an all-time high in August, and that the trend has been rising again since the beginning of 2026. Output had fallen sharply in the spring of 2020 to a low in May 2020, then trended upward until May 2022, after which the trend reversed.
Sentiment among manufacturers also improved. Producer confidence rose from 3.7 in August to 4.2 in September, with manufacturers mainly more positive about their output over the next three months, the office said. The August reading was above the 20-year average of -1.4. The indicator reached its all-time high of 10.5 in October 2021 and its all-time low of -31.5 in April 2020.
Confidence declined only among makers in the electronics and machinery industry, yet that group remained the most positive of all sectors, at 11.3.