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“ Spain’ s manufacturing industry enjoyed a solid performance in 2024, with growth of 3.5 %. The lower cost of energy inputs compared to other European countries, has boosted the competitiveness of Spanish manufacturing.”
MADE IN SPAIN
We present a selection of market analysis, trends, challenges and opportunities in the Spanish market for manufacturers.
Spain has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the euro area. Growth has been fuelled by robust services exports and labour force growth, which immigration has boosted.
The country is the fourth-largest economy in the Eurozone: its service-based economy enjoys a strong industrial base. Spain has become a strong force in wind and solar power, benefiting from its favourable climate and government incentives for green energy investment. However, it also has one of the highest unemployment rates in the Eurozone, particularly among young people, despite recent improvements.
In 2024, the Spanish economy grew by 3.2 %, accelerating significantly compared to the 2.5 % recorded in 2023. This improvement was widespread across all sectors: the services sector, manufacturing and the primary sector all showed greater buoyancy.
“ The outlook for the Spanish economy and its sectors in 2025 and 2026 is strong. Although there remains a high level of uncertainty surrounding the rules that govern global trade, we expect Spain’ s GDP to grow by 2.4 % in 2025 and by 2.0 % in 2026, in a scenario in which the trade tensions remain contained,” commented Caixa Bank Research in July this year.
Spanish manufacturing sector
“ Spain’ s manufacturing industry enjoyed a solid performance in 2024, with growth of 3.5 % outperforming the economy( as a whole). This growth was favoured by the lower cost of energy inputs compared to other European countries, which has boosted the competitiveness of Spanish manufacturing. As a result, the sector grew substantially above the EU average,” continued Caixa Bank Research.
“ Our forecasts envisage that the impact of the tariff hikes will be concentrated in the manufacturing sectors, although other indirect channels could affect other sectors more broadly. Some of the key supporting factors include the lower price of energy inputs for Spain’ s industry compared to that of other European countries, which will help Spain’ s sector to grow at a similar rate to the economy( as a whole)
42 | ismr. net | ISMR November 2025