The output of Japan’s industrial sector jumped in November to the largest since 2013, which provided hope for the country’s automotive sector to finally get rid of the semiconductor supply dilemma.

Last month, industrial production increased by 7.2% from October, far exceeding economists’ forecasts. Analysts said this improvement was driven by a 43.1% quarter-on-quarter increase in auto production, and they pointed out that other manufacturers appear to be rebuilding depleted inventories faster than expected.

Takuji Aida, chief economist at Okasan Securities, said that although overseas parts procurement has stagnated, it seems Supply chain issues The problems that plague Japanese manufacturers are gradually being resolved.

The monthly data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan is Japan’s last major economic data this year. After a modest increase of 1.8% in October from the previous month, there was an increase in November.

The government also issued an upward revision to its overall assessment of industrial production, stating that the manufacturing industry “shows signs of recovery” after previously rating the situation as “stagnation.”

Goldman Sachs analysts had predicted a growth of 4.8%. They pointed out that the production index in January 2020 has rebounded to slightly lower than the pre-pandemic level.

Goldman Sachs economist Yuriko Tanaka wrote in a report to customers: “Although monthly output may fluctuate in the case of a shortage of semiconductors and other parts, it seems to be returning to a steady growth track.”

Investors reacted positively to the data, pushing the benchmark Topix Index to rise by about 1%, and it briefly broke the 2,000-point line on Tuesday morning.

However, while some interpret these numbers as potential leading indicators for more sustained earnings in the last quarter of the fiscal year ending in March 2022, others More cautious.

Takashi Miwa, chief Japanese economist at Nomura Securities, said: “Some manufacturers have already announced their December and January production cuts, so we should be cautious about the situation in the fourth quarter.”

Miwa added that there may be a certain degree of downside risk in January because Propagation of Omicron variants“This may have a negative impact on production and tighten supply restrictions in technology, IT, and other industries that rely on semiconductor supplies,” he said.