17 May, 1999

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

Industrial output up by 3.3 per cent in March

According to Statistics Finland, industrial output as calculated by working day grew by 3.3 per cent in the year to March. Growth continued to hinge on the electronics industry, where output increased by nearly 42 per cent. In contrast, output in the other main industries fell from March 1998.

In the wood and paper industry, output contracted by 1.2 per cent from a year earlier. In the chemical industry, output went down by 2.6 per cent and in other manufacturing by 2.7 per cent. In the metal industry, electronics industry sustained growth, which amounted to 11.3 per cent.

Volume index of industrial output
Working day adjusted change 3/1998 - 3/1999, %

March capacity utilisation rate in manufacturing was 87 per cent, which is 4 percentage points lower than twelve months earlier. In the pulp and paper industry, capacity utilisation rate was 90 per cent, in the metal industry 89 per cent and in the chemical industry 79 per cent.

In the January - March period, output was up by 5.3 per cent compared to last year's corresponding period. Output in the metal industry increased by 16 per cent thanks to the electronics industry where output went up by nearly 48 per cent. Against this, output in the wood and paper industry declined by 1.5 per cent. Compared to the January - March period of 1998, output in the chemical industry fell by nearly 4 per cent and in other manufacturing by good 2 per cent.

Source: Volume Index of Industrial Output 1999, March. Statistics Finland