Slovakia's Industrial Sales Fall 2.4% in May, Decline Continues

Bratislava, 14 July (TASR) - Sales in Slovakia's key economic sector, industry, fell by a 2.4 percent year-on-year in May 2026, measured at constant prices and adjusted for inflation, and although the pace of the decline eased, the downward trend continued for a fifth consecutive month, the Statistics Office reported on Tuesday. Sales decreased in eight of the 16 industrial sectors monitored. On a month-on-month basis, industrial sales rose by 2.1 percent. The overall outcome was driven mainly by a year-on-year decline in sales in the manufacture of transport equipment by 4.5 percent, the manufacture of basic metals by 7.4 percent, the manufacture of wood products by 18.3 percent, and the manufacture of rubber and plastic products by 6.4 percent. These losses were partly offset by higher sales in the manufacture of machinery and equipment, computer, electronic and optical products, and coke and refined petroleum products. Sales also increased year-on-year in the other four sectors for which monthly data are published. The strongest growth was recorded in information and communication, where sales rose by 8.3 percent and in transport by 6.1 percent. Growth in selected market services also accelerated, with sales increasing by 3.5 percent in May. By contrast, although construction sales remained higher than a year earlier, their growth slowed to 0.4 percent, the weakest pace in the past five months. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, sales increased in four of the five sectors monitored. In information and communication they went up by 3.3 percent, in industry by 2.1 percent, and selected market services by 1.3 percent. Transport also posted a modest increase of 0.5 percent. Construction was the only sector to record a monthly decline, with sales falling by 2.9 percent. In the first five months of 2026, sales from own goods and services rose year-on-year in four of the five sectors monitored on a monthly basis. Information and communication activities recorded the only double-digit increase, with sales up 10.4 percent. Construction sales rose by 5.9 percent, transport and storage by 4.4 percent, and selected market services by 2.9 percent. Industry was the only sector to post a decline, with sales down 3.1 percent. mf