In April 2021, production increased substantially in all five sub-sectors of the Russian machine-building industry, as stated in issue 1425 of AK&M Information Agency's monthly paper "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Mechanical Engineering" issued on June 2, 2021.
The highest growth was in the production of motor vehicles and electronics due to the low base effect as the deepest decline in production was in April 2020. The seasonally adjusted Russian manufacturing PMI index reflecting the general market situation stayed above the crucial 50-point mark for the fourth month in a row in April 2021, indicating improvements, albeit modest, in the business environment in the Russian manufacturing industry since the start of the year.
In April 2021, the global car market soared 77.6% YoY to 7.010 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. 27.928 million cars were sold worldwide for four months of 2021 (+32.4%). China remains the global leader in car sales, with 2.114 million vehicles sold last month (+8.4% YoY). 1.535 million cars were sold in the U.S. (up 2.1 times YoY). In Western Europe, car markets increased 3.7 times YoY to 1.082 million cars in April. In Eastern Europe, car sales reached 367.5 thousand (up 2.9 times). In South America, local dealers sold 194 thousand cars, which is 3.5 times above the same period in 2020. Other major automobile markets included Japan, Canada and South Korea.
Exports of mechanical engineering products reached $5.623 billion in January-March 2021 while their imports soared 9.1 times to $51.333 billion. In physical terms, 3-month exports of both cars and trucks increased, while in money terms, the growth of exports was primarily noted in the segments of passenger cars. In March, exports of cars and machine-building products also increased significantly against February. Exports of products of agricultural machine factories increased 2.2 times YoY to reach RUB 3.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021 driven by pent-up demand.
The Intergovernmental Council of the Eurasian Economic Union has approved the Key Industrial Cooperation Priorities for the period until 2025. The new document contains a broad list of targets for industrial development and cooperation between EEU countries.
An in-depth review is provided in issue 1425 of AK&M Information Agency's "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Mechanical Engineering" monthly paper issued on June 2, 2021.
