Korea factory output jumps 9.9 percent in September

South Korea's manufacturing production rose 9.9 percent in September from August and all industry output rose 3.0 percent, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said, with factory utilisation up 5.6 points to 76.8 percent.

Why it matters: The monthly rebound is far larger than the 1.6 percent year on year rise in factory output, so it reads as a sharp snap back in production and shipments rather than a new trend, but it lands as the Kospi recovers from Thursday's 4.8 percent fall.

Data as of Ministry of Data and Statistics (Statistics Korea) Monthly Industrial Statistics for September 2026, published October 30, 2026 and read in full from the ministry's own release in this run; every figure is the ministry's own. Developing item.

South Korea’s manufacturing production rose 9.9 percent in September from the previous month, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said in its Monthly Industrial Statistics release, and the index of all industry production rose 3.0 percent on the month and 1.1 percent from a year earlier. Manufacturing shipments rose 6.3 percent on the month while inventories rose 0.8 percent, and the average factory capacity utilisation rate jumped 5.6 percentage points to 76.8 percent.

The annual comparisons are much smaller than the monthly ones: factory output was up 1.6 percent from September 2025 and capacity utilisation was down 2.8 percent year on year. Retail sales rose 3.6 percent on the month but fell 0.4 percent year on year, equipment investment rose 5.3 percent on the month and 10.1 percent year on year, and services output rose 0.5 percent on the month.

Korea factory output jumps 9.9 percent in September

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