Colombia’s Manufacturing Production Grows 0.6% as Employment Declines

Colombia’s manufacturing sector grew by just 0.6 percent between October 2025 and September 2026, according to data published by the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística.

Key Clinical Takeaways:
• Manufacturing production grew by only 0.6 percent over the twelve-month period ending in September 2026, down from highs of 2.2 percent earlier in the cycle.
• Real sales grew by a marginal 0.3 percent, while industrial employment contracted by 0.6 percent with job losses accelerating into the third quarter.
• Performance diverged sharply across sectors, with automotive manufacturing surging while textiles, caucho, and confectionary production dropped heavily.

Real sales grew by 0.3 percent over the same twelve-month period, while industrial employment contracted by 0.6 percent. DANE reported that the manufacturing sector faced mounting difficulties in sustaining activity and generating jobs as growth rates deteriorated progressively.

Production growth held near 2 percent between September 2025 and June 2026, reaching peaks of 2.2 percent in November 2025 and April 2026. The third quarter brought a sharp slowdown, as production growth dropped to 1.3 percent in July, 0.9 percent in August, and 0.6 percent in September.

Real sales followed a similar downward path. Variation stood at 2.1 percent in October 2025 before sliding to 1.1 percent in July 2026 and finishing at 0.3 percent in September.

Out of 39 analyzed subsectors, 18 posted positive variations in real production that added 2.5 percentage points collectively, while 21 activities recorded negative results that subtracted 1.9 percentage points. Motor vehicles and transport equipment led the positive outcomes, with production climbing 21.7 percent and sales rising 20.9 percent.

Beverage manufacturing grew 5 percent, contributing 0.7 percentage points to the total industrial result as the single largest positive driver. Pharmaceutical manufacturing and chemical substances posted a 6.1 percent production increase, adding 0.3 percentage points.

Contractions hit other traditional segments with double-digit losses. Rubber product manufacturing dropped 22.7 percent in real production alongside a 23.2 percent fall in sales, while cocoa, chocolate, and confectionery manufacturing fell 14.9 percent.

Regional performance split across the 14 departmental domains analyzed by DANE, with seven posting positive production variations. Cundinamarca drove the national result with a 3.8 percent increase in manufacturing production and a 0.6 percentage point contribution, alongside a 1.9 percent rise in employment.

Contractions affected departments such as Córdoba with a 16 percent drop, Tolima with a 7.9 percent decrease, and Cauca with a 4.7 percent reduction. Among ten urban areas, only Manizales and Pereira registered positive production growth at 3.1 percent and 1.2 percent respectively, while Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Medellín all posted declines.

Industrial employment fell 0.6 percent between October 2025 and September 2026, with the contraction deepening to 1 percent for the January-to-September period and 1.4 percent for the month of September alone. Job figures remained positive through May 2026 before turning negative in June at -0.1 percent, sliding further to -0.3 percent in July, -0.4 percent in August, and -0.6 percent in September.

Garment manufacturing generated the largest negative impact on employment, dropping 7.9 percent in personnel and subtracting 0.7 percentage points from the total indicator.