Industrial output in the eurozone fell back below pre-pandemic levels in August as supply chain bottlenecks restricted production of many products, such as German cars, raising concerns that the bloc’s economic rebound may run out of steam.
Several companies in Germany’s large carmaking industry have been forced to idle production and put thousands of workers back on furlough due to shortages of materials, particularly semiconductors.
This led to a 1.6 per cent drop in manufacturing production in August from the previous month across the 19 countries that share the euro, Eurostat announced on Wednesday. The fall was in line with economists’ expectations.