Core Trends in the Development of the Industrial Sector in the Ukrainian Regions

The deepening of the processes of European integration updated the need for Ukraine to increase the competitiveness of products of domestic producers to the level of the EU member states. The solution to this problem is impossible without structural modernization of Ukrainian industry. In its turn, the choice of directions and mechanisms for the practical implementation of the new state industrial policy in Ukraine (in particular, at the regional level) should be based on the results of relevant analytical assessments. The purpose of the article is to determine the key trends in the development of industry in Ukraine based on the evaluation of the dynamics of the values of indicators that systematically characterize the level of functioning of the industrial sector of the national economy in a regional context. The results of the analysis revealed that industry remains the leading type of economic activity in Ukraine with a share of 34.1% in the volume of sales of products (goods and services) in 2017. That year the industrial sector of the national economy significantly increased production, export and investment activity, and also reached a higher level of efficiency, in particular, resource (return on assets and labor productivity) and economic (operating profitability, profitability and return on assets). At the same time, there was a further decrease in the level of capital and innovation activity of the industry. To a certain extent, this is due to a slowdown in the dynamics of investment processes – the growth rate of capital investment in industry decreased by 18.4 pp. In order to counteract the established negative trends in industrial development (first of all, deterioration of the structure of assets and decrease of innovation activity, in particular, reduction of the share of innovative products in the total volume of industrial products sold, etc.), as well as for the further growth of profitability of the subjects of industrial activity and increase of the share of industry in commodity exports, the implementation of a complex of organizational and economic and financial mechanisms in the following areas: stimulating the level of innovation activity; activation of attraction of direct foreign investments; increasing export potential.