Japanese industrial production fell for a third straight month in September, deepening the worst quarterly slump for the country’s manufacturers since the height of the pandemic and weighing on the recovery before national elections this weekend.
Sliding output at Toyota Motor Corp. and other carmakers sent factory production down 5.4% from August, an economy ministry report showed Friday. The drop was twice as steep as the median estimate from analysts.
Sharper production has been falling amid global supply shortages weakening a key pillar of Japan’s recovery and will likely weigh on third quarter growth when October numbers come out next month. It could also put more pressure on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to boost the size of a stimulus package he’s pledged to deliver after Sunday’s general election.
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