World industrial output up by 5.5pc in Q3

VIENNA, Dec 2 (Xinhua): World manufacturing production increased by 5.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period of last year, said a report released Thursday by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). Though world industrial output increased only slightly in the third quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, the consistent growth in major economies indicated that a further worldwide downturn in industrial production is not imminent, according to the report. Growth from developing countries continued to accelerate, which increased by 13 per cent in the third quarter, while the manufacturing output of developed countries rose by an average of 3.3 per cent. China's manufacturing increased by 14.5 per cent, the United States by 4.1 per cent and Japan grew by 4.3 per cent. The European financial crisis so far has limited impacts on the manufacturing industry, the report said. In the third quarter of this year, good performance in manufacturing production was observed in Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Czech Republic with a surge of 9.6 per cent, 7.2 per cent, 6.4 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively. France and Britain had moderate growth, while in Italy, the manufacturing output fell in the third quarter in comparison with the previous one, like Greece, Portugal and Spain.