March 4, 10

NEWS / China unseats Japan as second largest industrial manufacturer

3 March 2010 – China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second largest industrial manufacturer, after the United States, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) announced today.
China’s share of the global total of manufacturing value, known as MVA, has inched up to 15.6 per cent, just knocking out Japan, which stands at 15.4 per cent. The US maintains its rank at 19 per cent. The three countries combined produce half of the world’s manufacturing output.

This information is part of UNIDO’s new International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2010, the only global publication providing worldwide statistics on current performance and trends for over 70 countries in the manufacturing sector for economists, planners, policy-makers and others.

In spite of China’s lead in terms of the absolute amount of production, Japan is still the world’s most industrialized country, in terms of MVA per capita, totalling nearly $9,000 compared to $700 for China.

The new report also found that the recent financial crisis had a severe impact on industrialized countries, but a much softer one on developing nations.

It also provides internationally comparable data for major indicators of manufacturing activity, which can be used to analyze growth patterns and industrial performance.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33962&Cr=unido&Cr1=