In January-September 2020, the Russian mechanical engineering industry, according to preliminary estimates, slightly improved its production performance. Production indices were notably above 100% in three of the five sub-sectors of the Russian machine-building industry, according to the latest issue (No. 1395) of AK&M Information Agency's monthly paper "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Mechanical Engineering" issued on October 21, 2020.
According to a research by IHS Markit, despite a decline in new orders, manufacturers further ramped up production in September. Shipments of mechanical engineering products across the railway network increased by 12.9% in September 2020, with supplies increasing both to the domestic market (+14%) and to export markets (+6%).
Worldwide sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles increased by 0.5% to 7.647 million in September. China remained the global leader in car sales in September (2.487 million vehicles, +9.3% year-on-year), followed by the U.S. (1.337 million cars, +4.4% year-on-year). Car markets in Western Europe totaled 1.367 million vehicles in September (+1.3%). In Eastern Europe, car sales increased by 19.7% to 393.3 thousand. The Russian car market witnessed a shy increase of 3.4%, while the Turkish market soared by more than 100%.
The Arktika next-gen nuclear-powered icebreaker has been officially included in the Russian nuclear fleet, with a solemn flag-raising ceremony held in Murmansk. Arktika inaugurates a series of totally new nuclear-powered vessels designed to achieve strategic Arctic exploration and development goals. The icebreakers of project 22220 will provide year-round navigation in the Western Arctic region to ensure the required level of cargo carriage along the Northern sea route.
The value of exported machines and equipment, cars and trucks for the first eight months of 2020 amounted to $14.332 billion, while the total value of imported machine-building products was $114.781 billion, which is 8 times higher. The year-on-year decline in exports covered the whole range of products in January-August, but exports of trucks increased significantly in August against July. Machines and equipment accounted for 6.5% of the total exports in January-August 2020. Supplies of electrical equipment decreased by 33.6%, supplies of optical instruments and devices by 25.6%, exports of surface transport vehicles, except for railway rolling stock, by 25.2%, exports of mechanical equipment by 15.7%. In physical terms, supplies of cars decreased by 45%, supplies of trucks by 16.3%.
An in-depth review is provided in issue 1395 of AK&M Information Agency's "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Mechanical Engineering" monthly paper issued on October 21, 2020.
