Industrial output in March fell 0.3 percent from the previous month, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry announced May 20.
The production index for the nation's mines and factories, which takes 1990 as a base year of 100, stood at a seasonally adjusted 101.2. On a year-on-year basis, the index was up 7.6 percent, marking the ninth consecutive month of increase, according to the report.
The shipments index for the reporting month came to 104.4, up 0.8 percent from the previous month and 9 percent higher than a year earlier. The inventory index dropped 2.7 percent from the previous month to 103.3, down 5.5 percent from a year before. The ministry predicts that the production index for the April-June period will stand at 102.2, down 0.4 percent from the previous quarter and up 6.5 percent from a year earlier.