Industrial output went down by 5.1 per cent in January from December 2002

According to Statistics Finland, seasonally adjusted industrial output went down by 5.1 per cent in January 2003 from December 2002. In December, seasonally adjusted output decreased by 0.8 per cent from November. Industrial output last declined more than this in April 2001, when seasonally adjusted industrial output fell by 8.4 per cent from the previous month.

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

Industrial output grew by 1.3 per cent in January 2003 from the year before

In January 2003, seasonally adjusted industrial output was 1.3 per cent higher than in January 2002. Output went up by most, or 17.5 per cent, in the manufacture of electrical products. In energy supply output grew by good 15 per cent. Output in the wood and paper industry went down by nearly 2 per cent. In the other metal industry, output fell by close on 5 per cent from the year before. In other manufacturing industry, output decreased by nearly 10 per cent, chiefly because of a fall of 7 per cent in the production of food and beverages.

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

Seasonally adjusted change in the volume of industrial output 1/2002-1/2003, %

Capacity utilisation rate in manufacturing was good 80 per cent in January, which is almost equal to the rate of January 2002. In the pulp and paper industry, capacity utilisation rate was 89 per cent, in the metal industry 80 per cent and in the chemical industry 79 per cent. Capacity utilisation rate in other manufacturing was 76 per cent.

Revised data for January 2003 will be published on 31 March 2003 at 8 am in connection with the industrial output data for February. Because of the method used, seasonally adjusted figures for previous months may change even if the original figures have not been revised.

Source: Volume Index of Industrial Output 2003, January. Statistics Finland
StatFin statistical service at: statfin.stat.fi