Spanish industrial production dives again

Spanish industrial production dives again

The economic crisis in Spain continues. Data released this morning showed that industrial production in the country tumbled by 6.5% in February, compared with a year ago.

That's the 18th monthly contraction in a row.

The slump was driven by a double-digit decline in production of durable goods for consumers, who are suffering badly as Madrid implements its austerity programme.

But production was also down across the board, from other consumer goods to large-scale industrial equipment:

Many Spanish factories have closed since the financial crisis struck, creating a vicious circle of rising unemployment and falling demand.

One example, thousands of people were employed at a door factory in the town in Villacanas, south of Madrid. In the good days they churned out products for Spain's property boom - but the plant is now closed, along with most of of the Villacanas industrial park.

The picture is slightly better in France this morning, where industrial production only fell by 2.8% year-on-year in February, and actually picked up by 0.7% compared with January.