In August 2025, manufacturing production in the Netherlands experienced a 1.7% increase month-over-month, representing a recovery from the previous month's downwardly revised 1.2% decline—the sharpest fall observed in seven months. This growth marks the first increase in three months and is the most significant since August 2024. Production saw a rebound in several sectors: food experienced growth of 0.8% (a climb from the -1.9% decrease in July); leather and shoes surged by 8.9% (from a -4.7% decline); building materials improved by 4.1% (from -2.7%); chemicals grew 0.2% (from a -0.7% contraction); and electrical equipment rose by 3.2% (from a -4.9% drop). Notably, production growth for machinery accelerated to 2.6% (up from 0.5%) and for automotive and trailers to 9.3% (up from 5.8%).
Conversely, growth in output moderated for clothing, showing an increase of 0.9% (down from 1.3%), and for textiles, up 0.1% (from 0.9%). However, a downturn was observed in pharmaceuticals, with production contracting by -6.0% (worse than the previous -0.7%); other products fell by -2.7% (from -2.3%); basic metals decreased by -0.4% (down from a 0.8% growth); metal products dropped by -1.3% (from a 2.0% increase); and furniture fell significantly by -3.5% (from a 10.3% rise). Annually, the manufacturing sector held steady, showing no growth after a previously revised 0.8% decline in the prior month.
