Colombia’s October Factory Gains Hide A Two-Speed Industrial Economy
Key Points
- October manufacturing output rose 1.9% year on year, sales rose 2.4%, and employment rose 0.7%, DANE said.
- 25 of 39 industries grew, led by transport equipment, while steel, rubber, and milling products sank.
- Caldas surged; Córdoba fell on output and sales yet recorded the strongest jobs gain.
Colombia’s latest manufacturing snapshot offers a clean headline and a messier reality. DANE’s monthly survey, based on about 3,100 industrial establishments, shows factories producing and selling more than a year earlier, with slightly more workers on payrolls.
Output increased 1.9% versus October 2024. Sales rose 2.4%. Employment grew 0.7%. The rebound was uneven. Of the 39 industrial activities tracked, 25 expanded and added 3.7 percentage points to annual growth. Fourteen contracted and subtracted 1.9 points.
The strongest gains were tied to mobility and consumer durables. “Vehicles and their engines” jumped 35.1% in production and 72.6% in sales. “Other transport equipment” rose 23.1% in production and 26.0% in sales.
Furniture, mattresses and bed bases climbed 12.8% in output and 10.0% in sales. Coffee hulling stayed positive, with output up 7.3% and sales up 10.9%.
Yet employment in vehicles and engines fell 13.4%, suggesting a rebound driven by higher utilization and efficiency rather than broad hiring.
Weakness sat in upstream inputs that often track construction and investment. Basic iron and steel output fell 14.7%. Rubber products dropped 14.3%. Milling products, starches and derivatives declined 11.3%.
The geography reinforces the “two-speed” pattern. Caldas led departments with production up 17.0% and sales up 16.7%. Antioquia rose 6.0% in output and 5.6% in sales.
Córdoba posted the steepest output fall at 16.3% and sales down 18.7%, yet it recorded the strongest employment gain, up 5.5%.
In metro areas, Valle de Aburrá rose 6.3% and contributed 0.9 points to the national rate. Among cities, Manizales climbed 12.7% and Medellín 9.8%, while Cali fell 8.9% and Bucaramanga 7.1%.
For readers outside Colombia, this is a practical map of where supply chains and demand are strengthening—often when rules are predictable—and where sudden policy swings still leave factories exposed. Nothing here is invented; every figure comes from DANE’s October 2025 manufacturing release.
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