AS per the uarterly report issued by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the global manufacgturing output is expected to be lower this year than last year, despite high growth rates in developing countries. The report states that world manufacturing output rose by 5.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2011, compared to 7.4 per cent in the first quarter.

If this trend continues, the overall growth of manufacturing value added (MVA) this year is expected to be 5.2 per cent, which is slightly lower than in 2010, according to the Vienna-based agency.

The report also notes that developing countries have maintained higher growth rates of manufacturing production, increasing by 11.1 per cent, and their MVA is expected to grow by 8.4 per cent this year.

China is the major contributor to this growth, with an output that increased by 14.3 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period of 2010.

The growth rate of the United States, the world’s largest manufacturer, dropped to 4.4 per cent in the second quarter from almost 7 per cent in the first quarter. Manufacturing output growth rates also fell in France, Italy and the United Kingdom, while Germany maintained high growth of 9.4 per cent in the second quarter.

The production of motor vehicles, meanwhile, fell significantly due to the severe decline of this industry in Japan.