15 January, 1999

Inquiries: Mr Ari Mikkelä +358 9 1734 2479, Mr Rami Peltola +358 9 1734 3615
Director in charge: Mr Ilkka Hyppönen

Manufacture of pulp and paper down by 6 per cent in November

The manufacture of pulp, paper and paper products went down by almost 6 per cent in the year to November. According to Statistics Finland, total output as calculated per working day in the wood and paper industry fell by good 4 per cent in November 1998 compared to November 1997.

In all, industrial output as calculated per working day increased by 4.3 per cent in the year to November. Growth in industrial output was sustained by the electrical industry, where output went up by 52 per cent on the previous year's November. The increase in the electrical industry was due to a brisk growth in the manufacture of communication equipment. Without the growth in the output of the electrical industry, total industrial output in November would have been down by approximately 3 per cent. Output fell in most branches of the manufacturing industry compared to the previous year.

Output went down in the other main sectors of the metal industry except for the electrical industry. In November, the manufacture of machinery and equipment fell by almost 10 per cent on the previous year. Output in the chemical industry went down by nearly 6 per cent. Publishing and printing decreased by 11 per cent and the manufacture of textiles and clothes by almost 8 per cent in the year to November. However, output in energy and water supply rose by about 3 per cent on the year before.

November capacity utilisation rate in manufacturing was 87 per cent, which is four percentage points lower than in November 1997. In the pulp and paper industry, the capacity rate was 91 per cent, in the metal industry 89 per cent and in the chemical industry 80 per cent.

During the January to November period, industrial output as calculated per working day increased by 8.3 per cent compared to the corresponding period the previous year. In the same period, output in the electrical industry went up by 39 per cent and in the wood and paper industry by almost 5 per cent on the year before.

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