15 October, 1998

Inquiries: Mr Ari Mikkelä + 358 9 1734 2479
Director in charge: Mr Ilkka Hyppönen

Industrial output up by 5.3 per cent in August

According to Statistics Finland's index per working day, industrial output went up by 5.3 per cent in the year to August. Growth slowed down from July, when output increased by 8 per cent.

Output in the metal industry went up by almost 11 per cent in the year to August. The manufacture of communication equipment increased by 62 per cent and the production of the whole electrical industry by 35 per cent. The manufacture of base metals and metal products grew by nearly 4 per cent, but the manufacture of machinery and equipment went down by 10 per cent from a year earlier. Without the growth of output in the electrical industry, the whole industrial output would have increased by only less than one per cent in August.

In August, output in the wood and paper industry went up by nearly 7 per cent and in the chemical industry by good 2 per cent on the previous year. In contrast, output in energy and water supply fell by almost 3 per cent.

August capacity utilisation rate in manufacturing was 89 per cent, which is 2 percentage points higher than in August 1997. In the pulp and paper industry, the capacity rate was 96 per cent, in the metal industry 90 per cent and in the chemical industry 82 per cent.

During the January to August period, the revised growth rate in industrial output increased by 8.6 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year. Output in the metal industry grew by almost 16 per cent. In the same period, output in the wood and paper industry went up by almost 8 per cent, in the chemical industry by good 5 per cent and in other manufacturing industry by almost 4 per cent.

In July, the revised growth rate in industrial output as calculated per working day was 8.0 per cent, which is 0.2 percentage points below the previously published figure.

Source: Volume Index of Industrial Output 1998, August. Statistics Finland