SEOUL, May 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's domestic supply in the manufacturing industry fell for the third consecutive quarter due to shrinkage in both domestic production and imported manufacturing products, statistical office data showed Thursday.
The index of domestic manufacturing supply, which includes locally produced and imported manufacturing products, came in at 102.5 in the January-March quarter, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
It continued to decrease since the third quarter of last year amid rising worry about an economic slowdown.
The products supply by local manufacturers declined 0.6 percent in the first quarter after sliding 1.2 percent in the previous quarter.
The import of manufacturing products dropped 6.7 percent in the cited quarter, keeping a downward trend for the fourth successive quarter.
The portion of import to the total domestic manufacturing supply retreated 0.9 percentage points over the year to 27.5 percent in the first quarter.
The domestic supply of intermediate goods, such as materials and components used for manufacturing production, diminished 4.0 percent in the first quarter after falling 1.0 percent in the third quarter and 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter last year.
The supply of consumer goods reduced by 3.2 percent, but capital goods supply expanded by 4.9 percent. ■
