Slovakia's industrial output shrinks by 0.2%: Electronics sector plummets by 47.3%
Slovak industry produced 0.2% less in August than a year earlier. The Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (ŠÚ SR) reported this on October 9. It is the fifth decline this year, but the smallest. Seven of the 15 sectors monitored posted declines.
Electronics and Auto Manufacturing Slow Down
Manufacturers of computers and electronic products produced 47.3% less. According to ŠÚ SR, one of the major producers has ceased operations. Transportation equipment manufacturing, which includes the automotive industry, contracted by 3.3%. A major manufacturer postponed its plant shutdown. As a result, production was down by about one week compared to August 2025.
Compared to July, seasonally adjusted production fell by 0.6%. From January through August, industrial output was 0.3% below the previous year’s level. The electronics sector lost more than 14% during this period, while transportation equipment manufacturing fell by nearly 2%. Coking and petroleum processing declined by more than 12%.
Machinery and Energy Offset the Decline
Other sectors grew. Mechanical engineering rose by 9.5%, and metal production by 6.6%. Energy and gas supply increased by 7.2%. In the first eight months, it grew by more than 3%.
Foreign trade paints a similar picture. Slovakia posted a deficit of 125 million euros in August. From January through August, there remains a surplus of around 1.5 billion euros, similar to the previous year. The cost of importing energy raw materials rose by nearly 45%.
Ľubomír Koršňák, an analyst at UniCredit Bank, attributes the trend to prices. He said, “The trade balance has been systematically deteriorating in recent months, primarily due to price effects.” Koršňák expects a surplus of 1 to 1.5% of economic output by the end of the year. Marián Kočiš of Slovenská sporiteľna continues to forecast around 1%.
For German exporters, this means that those supplying Slovakian auto plants must expect fluctuating order volumes. The weakness in the transportation equipment sector is partly due to postponed plant shutdowns, not solely to a lack of demand. Suppliers of machinery and metal products, on the other hand, are encountering growing industries. Investors should put the slump in the electronics sector into perspective: ŠÚ SR attributes it primarily to the failure of a single producer.
Sources: Štatistický úrad SR (SK), UniCredit Bank, and Slovenská sporiteľna via TASR (SK)
SK, Frankfurt