14 January, 2000
Inquiries: Mr Rami Peltola +358 9 1734 3615, Mr Kari
Rautio +358 9 1734 2479
Director in charge: Mr Ilkka Hyppönen
Industrial output up by 3.4 per cent in November
According to Statistics Finland, Finnish industrial output as calculated per working day went up by 3.4 per cent in the year to November. In October, the corresponding figure stood at 2.3 per cent. Output in the wood and paper industry went up by nearly 13 per cent, while in October it grew by 9 per cent. In the chemical industry, output rose by good 8 per cent in November. In contrast, output in the electronics industry fell by good 3 per cent.
Capacity utilisation rate in manufacturing was 88 per cent in November, which is one percentage point higher than the year before. In the pulp and paper industry, capacity utilisation rate was close on 97 per cent, in the metal industry 87 per cent, and in the chemical industry 80 per cent.
In the January to November period, industrial output was up by 4.5 per cent on the corresponding period in 1998. Output in the metal industry increased by just under 9 per cent. The fastest grower was the electronics industry, where output went up by nearly 23 per cent. Output in the chemical industry grew by 2.5 per cent. In the wood and paper industry, output increased by good 2 per cent. Output in other manufacturing fell by just short of one per cent compared to the January to November period of the year before last.
In the year to November, Finnish industrial output grew by 3.5 per cent (seasonally adjusted). According to the OECD's seasonally adjusted series, output in the United States was up by 4.3 per cent and in Japan by 5.7 per cent on the previous year's November.
Source: Volume Index of Industrial Output 1999, November. Statistics Finland