Mexico’s industrial production grew 1.3% year-on-year in September 2026, the weakest pace since May. This marked a sharp slowdown from the 3.5% increase recorded in August and came in well below market expectations of 3.4%.
Manufacturing activity lost steam, expanding just 0.6% after a 3.2% gain in the previous month. Within this sector, output of petroleum and coal products rose a modest 0.4%, following a 21.4% surge in August, while production of basic metals contracted by 4.8%.
Construction growth also cooled, easing to 4.9% from 7.5% in August. A 7.8% decline in specialized construction work partly offset a strong 29.2% increase in civil engineering projects.
In the mining sector, output fell 1.4%, extending the 0.8% drop seen previously, weighed down by a sharper contraction in oil and gas extraction (-1.8% vs. -0.1%). In contrast, utilities production rose by 3.4%.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, overall industrial activity declined 1.4% in September, the steepest drop since October 2024, following a 0.2% increase in August.