After a couple of particularly weak months, Korean industrial production snapped back in April, rising a better-than-expected 1.7%. (paywall)
Electronics—along with another crucial South Korean industry, shipbuilding—drove the rebound. Here’s a look at a chart from Barclays analysts.
Korean industrial production in April provides a nice early look at the upcoming summer launch season for mobile devices. Consumer electronics account for about 20% of industrial production in Korea, according to Barclays analysts. And the numbers on mobile phone production look pretty good. Here’s an interesting takeaway from Barclays analysts:
Mobile phone production was particularly strong in April, rising 4.4% m/m in seasonally adjusted terms, reversing the declining trend in the prior four months. This was probably powered by the late April launch of the popular Samsung Galaxy series handsets, which reportedly sold 10mn units worldwide within a month. With Samsung and Apple now announcing a series of new model launches over the summer, the outlook for electronics manufacturing is looking brighter.