Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 3 percent in July from the previous month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday, revising its initially reported 2.7 percent fall.
The index of output at mines and factories came to 94.8 against the 1995 base of 100 -- its lowest level since a reading of 94.1 in February 1994 -- for for the fifth straight month of decline.
The fall is also the steepest since a 4.4 percent drop in January.
The revision stems from smaller-than-estimated output of medical products, a ministry official said.
The indexes on shipments, inventories and inventory ratio were unchanged from the initial data.
The ministry also said the capacity utilization index sank 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 92.3, down for the fifth straight month to its second lowest level under the 1995 base.
The index on production capacity fell an unadjusted 2.2 percent from a year earlier to 96.7, for the largest drop and to the lowest point on the same basis. The index has continued to decline since February 1999.
The fall in the production-capacity index indicates that manufacturers are moving to scrap production facilities, amid falls in output and shipments and rises in inventories, the ministry official said.