Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s industrial growth in the first 10 months of 2026 was largely driven by the processing and manufacturing sector, which remained the main growth engine, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The sector’s industrial production index (IIP) rose 13% year on year, contributing 10.2 percentage points to overall industrial growth. Mining increased 7.1%, adding 1.1 percentage points, while electricity generation and distribution grew 10.6%, contributing one percentage point. Water supply, waste and wastewater management and treatment expanded 9.2%.
Phi Thi Huong Nga, head of the NSO’s Industrial and Construction Statistics Division, said the overall IIP rose 12.4% in January-October, the highest growth rate for the same period during 2019-2026, reflecting positive manufacturing performance and economic growth.
She stressed the need to further strengthen processing and manufacturing, develop supporting industries, improve competitiveness and expand consumer markets to sustain momentum in the remaining months. These efforts are also important to improving industrial growth quality and supporting the country's double-digit economic growth target for 2026.
Several manufacturing subsectors recorded strong growth, including metal production (25.6%), beverage production (17.5%), electronic products, computers and optical products (15.2%), motor vehicles (14.6%), rubber and plastic products (13.6%), and food processing (12.9%).
However, growth remained uneven. Leather and related products increased by just 4.3%, while hard coal and lignite mining fell 0.6%, reflecting market and production difficulties in some industries.
Industrial production expanded in 33 provinces and cities, while Son La recorded a 5% decline. Growth across localities was mainly driven by processing and manufacturing and electricity generation and distribution, while weaker performance in some areas stemmed from sluggish or falling output in these sectors and mining.
Many key industrial products also posted robust growth. Tablet production surged 36.6%, followed by motorcycles (26.8%), laptops (25.9%), automobiles (25.1%), rolled steel (24%), steel bars and angles and processed seafood (22.5% each), refined sugar (18.9%), crude steel (17%) and beer (14.6%).
The strong performance of electronics, computers and transport equipment highlights the role of technology-intensive and large-scale manufacturing in driving growth, while creating opportunities for supporting industries and related services.
By contrast, output declined for monosodium glutamate (6.7%), NPK compound fertiliser (6.3%), televisions (5.1%) and liquefied petroleum gas (4.9%), reflecting differences in market demand and production prospects.
The industrial labour market also showed positive signs. As of October 1, employment in industrial enterprises increased 0.8% from the previous month and 3.2% year on year.
Employment in processing and manufacturing rose 0.9% month on month and 3.4% year on year. The electricity, gas, hot water, steam and air conditioning supply sector recorded increases of 0.2% and 1.8%, respectively, while employment in water supply and waste management rose 0.2% and 3.9%.
Mining employment edged up 0.1% from the previous month but declined 2.3% year on year, indicating continued workforce adjustments in the sector./.
