Manufacturing industry in Europe from 1995 to 2015 Its share in the economy declined, except in Germany

From 1995 to 2015, value added in the manufacturing industry increased by 61% in value across the European Union. However, its share in the economy as a whole fell back, from 19.6% to 15.9%. It declined in the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain, but remained stable in Germany.

In France, the downturn was due mainly to the decline in manufacturing relative prices, which was driven by higher and faster gains in productivity in the manufacturing industry than in the rest of the economy. In the other four countries, the impact of these gains in productivity was less pronounced. In the United Kingdom and Spain, the fall in the weight of industry was due mainly to the decline in volumes, whereas in Italy, the effects of “price” and “volume” were combined. For these countries, as for France, foreign competition and the development of services also played a part.

In Germany, however, manufacturing industry was sustained by its exports and the structure of domestic demand was modified less in favour of services.