— Japan June Industrial Output +3.9% M/M Vs May +6.2%
— Japan June Industrial Output MNI Poll Median Forecast +4.3% M/M
— METI Forecast Index: Japan July Output +2.2% M/M, Aug +2.0%
— METI Repeats View: Japan Output Recovering From Earthquake Impact
— Japan June Industrial Output -1.6% Y/Y Vs May -5.5%

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s industrial output rose for a third straight
month in June, showing steady progress in efforts by manufacturers to
fix quake-ravaged production facilities and supply chain networks
following the March 11 earthquake, government data showed Friday.

Production at the nation’s factories and mines rose a seasonally
adjusted 3.9% in June from the previous month, bringing the industrial
output index to 92.7, the highest since February this year when it stood
at 97.9.

In May, it posted a 6.2% rise, the second largest gain on record
after a 7.9% increase marked in March 1953.

The June headline figure came in slightly weaker than the median
forecast by economists in a Market News International survey for a 4.3%
rise.

The seasonally adjusted monthly rise in June was also below the
5.3% m/m gain predicted in the ministry’s forecast survey released last
month.

METI’s latest survey of firms’ forecasts showed that overall
production is expected to rise 2.2% m/m in July – revised up from the
0.5% rise estimated in the previous survey — and will increase further
by 2.0% in August (first estimate).

Based on the latest data and the outlook for the next two months,
METI maintained its overall assessment, saying: “Industrial production
is recovering from the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake.”

In the April-June quarter, industrial output fell 4.0% q/q, the
fourth consecutive quarterly drop, following a 2.0% decline in the
previous quarter.

In June, output of transportation equipment — mostly automobiles
— rose 18.5%, the second straight monthly rise, following a 36.6% gain
in May.

Output of mini vehicles with engine displacement of less than 660cc
rose 16.9% in June, while output of large passenger cars with engine
displacement of over 2000cc surged 28.5% and output of small passenger
cars with engine displacement of over 660cc but less than 2000cc jumped
17.9%.

Compared with year-earlier levels, production in June fell 1.6%,
marking a fourth straight y/y fall.

Other details from the latest data:

Shipments: June +8.5% m/m vs. +5.3% in May, posting a second
monthly rise. The June increase was the largest m/m gain on record, a
ministry official told reporters.

Inventories: June -2.8% vs. May +5.6%, marking the first fall in
three months.

The inventory-to-shipments ratio: June -7.3% vs. May -3.3%, showing
the second straight monthly fall.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **

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