1분기 제조업 국내공급 4.1%↓…반도체 설비투자 감소 영향

Yet another data point is out reflecting the slowdown in the Korean economy last quarter.
Statistics Korea says the supply of manufactured goods fell by more than 4 percent... mainly due to less facility investment in semiconductors.
Kim Da-mi has the details.
South Korea's total supply in manufacturing dropped 4-point-1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier,... another sign of weakening demand in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The manufacturing domestic supply index,...which measures both local and imported goods, marked 98-point-7 during the January to March period,... after increasing by almost 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Statistics Korea, who compiled the data, blames the on-year decline on a sharp fall in investment in semiconductor equipment... and also noted huge investment in semiconductors in the first quarter last year.
Investment in capital goods also dropped by around 23 percent on-year. Capital goods are machines and equipment used for production for more than a year, and are another indicator of investment in the manufacturing industry.
It's the sharpest fall since data was first collected in 2010.
While the supply of locally made goods fell almost 4 percent, imported products also declined 4-point-3 percent on-year mainly due to a decline in imports of mechanical equipment.
By industry, local supply in mechanical and transport equipment saw particularly steep drops,... at 20 and 44 percent respectively.
Kim Da-mi, Arirang News.