Industrial production declined a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent in May from the previous month due to weakened demand for motor vehicles, computers and mobile phone devices, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
The index of output at mines and factories stood at 100.1 against the base of 100 for 2000, METI said in a preliminary report.
The 2.3 percent fall, which followed a 1.9 percent rise in April, was slightly better than market expectations of a 2.5 percent drop.
The ministry left its overall assessment of output unchanged for the ninth straight month, saying, "Output tended to be flat."
"The April result was favorable due to one-off factors and the output data have been seesawing. Thus, we see the trend has been almost flat," a METI official said, noting that new model launches for computers and vehicles pushed up the April figure.
In May, transport equipment output was weak due to decreased vehicle exports to North America and the Middle East, while production of personal computers and digital cameras fell after increased output in April, the official said.
On the other hand, production of cosmetics rose in May to prepare for the launch of new products.
The index of industrial shipments slipped 2.7 percent to 102.0, the first fall in three months, and that of industrial inventories was unchanged from April at 92.3.
Inventories of electronic devices, including mobile phone parts, grew 8.8 percent in May.