Industrial output fell by 2.5 per cent in August from July

According to Statistics Finland, seasonally adjusted industrial output was 2.5 per cent lower in August than in July. In July, seasonally adjusted industrial output grew by 0.4 per cent from June.

Seasonally adjusted change in the volume of whole industrial output from
the previous month, %

Output grew by 1.4 per cent in August from the year before

Compared to August 2001, seasonally adjusted industrial output grew by 1.4 per cent. Over the January to August period, seasonally adjusted industrial output was 0.8 per cent greater than over the corresponding period of last year.

Compared to August 2001, industrial output continued to grow in several main industries. In the wood and paper industry, output went up by close on 7 per cent. The manufacture of electrical products increased by 3.5 per cent and output of the chemical industry grew by just short of 2 per cent from the previous year. In other manufacturing and in other metal industry output decreased by 2.5 per cent.

Capacity utilisation rate in manufacturing was 80.6 per cent in August, which is nearly three percentage points lower than in August 2001. In the pulp and paper industry, capacity utilisation rate was 91 per cent, in the metal industry 78 per cent and in the chemical industry 80 per cent. Capacity utilisation rate in other manufacturing was 77 per cent.

Seasonally adjusted change in the volume of whole industrial output from the corresponding time period of the previous year, %

Seasonally adjusted change in the volume of industrial output 8/2001-8/2002, %

Revised data for August will be published on 31 October 2002 at 8 am in connection with the industrial output data for September. Because of the method used, seasonally adjusted figures for previous months may change even if the original figures did not become revised.

Source: Volume Index of Industrial Output 2002, August. Statistics Finland
StatFin statistical service at: statfin.stat.fi