Industrial output fell by 0.5 per cent in September from August

According to Statistics Finland, seasonally adjusted industrial output was 0.5 per cent lower in September than in August. In August, seasonally adjusted industrial output fell by 2.6 per cent from July.

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

Output grew by 0.8 per cent in September from the year before

Compared to September 2001, seasonally adjusted industrial output grew by 0.8 per cent. Over the January to September period, seasonally adjusted industrial output was 0.9 per cent higher than over the corresponding period of last year.

In September output increased most, or by as much as 32.4 per cent, in mining and quarrying. Energy production also went up by 12.7 per cent from the year before. In the wood and paper industry, output increased by 3 per cent and in the chemical industry by good one per cent. In contrast, output of electrical products decreased by just short of one per cent from last year's September. Compared to twelve months back, output fell by 3.4 per cent in other manufacturing and by 1.1 per cent in other metal industry.

Capacity utilisation rate in manufacturing was 83.8 per cent September, which is good one percentage point lower than in September 2001. In the pulp and paper industry, capacity utilisation rate was 91 per cent, in the metal industry 83 per cent and in the chemical industry 79 per cent. Capacity utilisation rate in other manufacturing was 79 per cent.

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

Seasonally adjusted change in the volume of industrial output 9/2001-9/2002, %

Revised data for September will be published on 29 November 2002 at 8 am in connection with the industrial output data for October. 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, September. Statistics Finland
StatFin statistical service at: statfin.stat.fi