The CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis publishes a monthly report called "World Trade Monitor". This report tries to quantify the seemingly unquantifiable; world industrial production and world trade volume and prices. Either later today or early next week the CPB should come out with the first statistics for 2014. Today, however, we are going to take a look at world industrial production for 2013.
According to the CPB, world industrial production rose 3.5% year-over-year to an all-time high at the end of last year.
Industrial production growth was led by the emerging economies which grew by 4.4% year-over-year and reach an all-time high. Developed economies, however, only grew by 2.7% and are still about 7% lower than the all-time high in early 2008.
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Asia increased industrial production the most of any region. While, Africa and the Middle East and Latin America actually saw a year-over-year decline in 2013.