Petroleum-related manufacturing still struggling

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Norwegian manufacturing output went down 0.7 per cent from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2017, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. Petroleum-related manufacturing contributed most to pull down the overall activity level, while food products contributed to dampen the decline.

The index level for Norwegian manufacturing in the third quarter of 2017 amounted to 113.5 (2005=100). The corresponding figure for the previous quarter was 114.3. Smoothed seasonally-adjusted figures indicate a falling trend for the last 3 months (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Production development in manufacturing. Seasonally adjusted and smoothed seasonally adjusted figures. 2005=100

Smoothed seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Jan. 2012 113.89 114.6
Feb. 2012 113.98 113.9
Mar. 2012 114.09 113.51
Apr. 2012 114.34 113.74
May. 2012 114.74 115.89
June. 2012 115.25 114.82
July. 2012 115.77 115.09
Aug. 2012 116.19 117.09
Sep. 2012 116.48 116.56
Oct. 2012 116.69 116.75
Nov. 2012 116.96 117.06
Dec. 2012 117.3 116.29
Jan. 2013 117.83 118.08
Feb. 2013 118.43 118.83
Mar. 2013 119.15 117.1
Apr. 2013 119.85 120.49
May. 2013 120.42 119.44
June. 2013 120.75 121.23
July. 2013 120.82 121.83
Aug. 2013 120.69 120.44
Sep. 2013 120.5 120.28
Oct. 2013 120.36 120.19
Nov. 2013 120.39 119.65
Dec. 2013 120.56 120.76
Jan. 2014 120.94 121.84
Feb. 2014 121.29 121.48
Mar. 2014 121.75 121.47
Apr. 2014 122.37 121.8
May. 2014 123.2 122.4
June. 2014 124.14 124.91
July. 2014 125.08 124.89
Aug. 2014 125.79 126.67
Sep. 2014 126.07 122.65
Oct. 2014 125.87 126.42
Nov. 2014 125.33 124.85
Dec. 2014 124.55 125.65
Jan. 2015 123.67 122.27
Feb. 2015 122.74 122.56
Mar. 2015 121.75 125.86
Apr. 2015 120.78 121.46
May. 2015 119.87 118.9
June. 2015 119.03 120.09
July. 2015 118.34 116.9
Aug. 2015 117.75 117.8
Sep. 2015 117.24 118.44
Oct. 2015 116.79 115.93
Nov. 2015 116.36 117.04
Dec. 2015 116.02 115.91
Jan. 2016 115.77 114.8
Feb. 2016 115.5 115.24
Mar. 2016 115.2 116.79
Apr. 2016 114.75 114.53
May. 2016 114.14 114.75
June. 2016 113.44 112.36
July. 2016 112.75 115.81
Aug. 2016 112.28 109.63
Sep. 2016 112.18 111.91
Oct. 2016 112.35 112.17
Nov. 2016 112.64 112.24
Dec. 2016 113.02 113.47
Jan. 2017 113.38 114.03
Feb. 2017 113.7 113.72
Mar. 2017 113.94 112.75
Apr. 2017 114.08 114.73
May. 2017 114.14 114.49
June. 2017 114.11 113.8
July. 2017 113.99 117.09
Aug. 2017 113.76 110.3
Sep. 2017 113.49 113.22

Three-month change: decrease in petroleum-related manufacturing, increase in food products

According to seasonally-adjusted figures, manufacturing output saw a small decrease of 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the previous one. Machinery and equipment together with fabricated metal products as well as ships, boats and oil platforms contributed most to the overall decline. Other parts of petroleum-related manufacturing also experienced reduced activity this period and the grouping saw an overall decline of 3.8 per cent. For more details about how petroleum-related manufacturing affects the overall development in manufacturing, see the article Norwegian Manufacturing 2016 – a tough year for manufacturing.

On the opposite side, growth in food products as well as in the industry grouping rubber, plastic and mineral products, contributed to dampen the decline in the overall manufacturing output. Within food products the increase is related to higher activity in processing and preserving of fish. Within rubber, plastic and mineral products the growth is particularly related to a high level of activity in the Norwegian construction sector, where this industry grouping is a supplier of intermediate goods.

Figure 2. Selected industries in manufacturing. Seasonally adjusted, 3-month percentage change. July 2017-September 2017/April 2017-June 2017

3-month percentage change
Ships, boats and oil platforms -4.5
Machinery and equipment -2.3
Food products 2.3
Rubber, plastic and mineral prod. 3.6

Figure 3. Indicator for petroleum-related industries. Seasonally adjusted.

Petroleum-related manufacturing and support activities Petroleum-related manufacturing Manufacturing ex. petroleum-related industries
Jan. 2007 124.1 105.3
Feb. 2007 124.7 105.8
Mar. 2007 124.9 105.7
Apr. 2007 126.5 105.5
May. 2007 130 106.7
June. 2007 132.5 106.2
July. 2007 132.9 106.5
Aug. 2007 132.8 105.3
Sep. 2007 133 105.5
Oct. 2007 134.6 105.2
Nov. 2007 135.7 104.9
Dec. 2007 137.7 104.7
Jan. 2008 139.9 104.8
Feb. 2008 142.1 105.6
Mar. 2008 141.8 105.1
Apr. 2008 144.5 106.1
May. 2008 148.4 105.9
June. 2008 152.9 106.2
July. 2008 156.2 104.1
Aug. 2008 156.3 103.4
Sep. 2008 156.7 102.1
Oct. 2008 155.8 101.3
Nov. 2008 155.7 99.8
Dec. 2008 156.1 98.5
Jan. 2009 156.2 96.7
Feb. 2009 157 94.9
Mar. 2009 157.5 93.3
Apr. 2009 157.1 92.1
May. 2009 156.6 91
June. 2009 154.8 90.3
July. 2009 153.5 90.2
Aug. 2009 152.8 90.7
Sep. 2009 153.5 92
Oct. 2009 153.8 92.9
Nov. 2009 153.2 93.8
Dec. 2009 151.7 94.3
Jan. 2010 143.9 151 94.7
Feb. 2010 143.2 150.6 95.3
Mar. 2010 144.9 151.4 95.9
Apr. 2010 145.8 151.9 96.5
May. 2010 143.4 151.6 96
June. 2010 143.1 152.3 96.7
July. 2010 142.3 152.3 98.2
Aug. 2010 142.2 152 98.6
Sep. 2010 143 151.4 98.5
Oct. 2010 144.8 151.2 97.7
Nov. 2010 148.2 152.6 99
Dec. 2010 151 152.7 99
Jan. 2011 149.9 153 99
Feb. 2011 149.5 153.1 98.8
Mar. 2011 147.3 153.3 99.6
Apr. 2011 148.9 151.8 99.6
May. 2011 150.6 152.7 99.4
June. 2011 152.3 151.9 97.8
July. 2011 154.2 153 95.7
Aug. 2011 155.9 154.5 94.2
Sep. 2011 159.1 158.7 94.5
Oct. 2011 161.2 163.3 95.6
Nov. 2011 162.8 164.7 96.3
Dec. 2011 164.7 166.6 95.3
Jan. 2012 167.1 167.9 95.3
Feb. 2012 169.5 168.4 95.2
Mar. 2012 167.6 168 95.5
Apr. 2012 164.7 166.2 95.6
May. 2012 164.7 167.9 95.9
June. 2012 168.2 169.3 95.9
July. 2012 170.5 172.3 95.6
Aug. 2012 172.8 174.4 95.4
Sep. 2012 173.5 177 95.4
Oct. 2012 177.6 179.7 95
Nov. 2012 178.1 180.9 94.6
Dec. 2012 179.1 181.6 94.4
Jan. 2013 180.3 183.2 94.5
Feb. 2013 182.5 186.1 94.2
Mar. 2013 186.7 188.2 93.8
Apr. 2013 187.8 191.5 93.4
May. 2013 189.3 193.5 93
June. 2013 190.8 197.6 93.4
July. 2013 193.8 198.7 93.9
Aug. 2013 194.1 198.2 94.6
Sep. 2013 193.8 196.9 94.6
Oct. 2013 191.5 195 94.6
Nov. 2013 193 195.2 94.1
Dec. 2013 194 195.2 94.2
Jan. 2014 196.3 196.8 94.2
Feb. 2014 196.7 198.6 94.3
Mar. 2014 196 200.7 94
Apr. 2014 195.7 200.8 94.1
May. 2014 197.4 201.2 94.4
June. 2014 200.1 203.3 95.2
July. 2014 199.2 207.6 95.1
Aug. 2014 201.2 212.9 95.2
Sep. 2014 201 212.6 94.2
Oct. 2014 206 213.4 94.4
Nov. 2014 204.1 212.2 94
Dec. 2014 203.4 215.2 94.5
Jan. 2015 199.7 213.3 93.5
Feb. 2015 196.9 210.4 93.4
Mar. 2015 195.2 208.6 94
Apr. 2015 193.7 206 94.5
May. 2015 189.1 202.5 94.1
June. 2015 184.8 195.8 93.8
July. 2015 180.7 191.8 92.8
Aug. 2015 179.1 188.9 93.2
Sep. 2015 177.3 186.6 93.1
Oct. 2015 173.5 184.2 93.9
Nov. 2015 171.6 181.9 94.3
Dec. 2015 168 178.6 94.2
Jan. 2016 165.3 177.2 94.2
Feb. 2016 164.7 175 94.2
Mar. 2016 165 175.8 94.5
Apr. 2016 163.8 174.2 94.9
May. 2016 160.9 172.5 95.2
June. 2016 157.4 167.8 94.8
July. 2016 157.8 166.7 95.1
Aug. 2016 153 159.6 95
Sep. 2016 151.6 157.7 95.2
Oct. 2016 148.9 155.4 95
Nov. 2016 150.9 159.1 95.1
Dec. 2016 151.4 161.3 95.3
Jan. 2017 151.1 159.8 96.6
Feb. 2017 149.7 159.3 97.5
Mar. 2017 146.1 155.5 98.1
Apr. 2017 146.9 157.4 98
May. 2017 148.2 157.8 98.1
June. 2017 150.5 158.9 98.3
July. 2017 150 156.2 99.1
Aug. 2017 146.7 153 98.2
Sep. 2017 146.6 152.8 98

Monthly change: increase in manufacturing from August to September 2017

According to seasonally-adjusted figures, manufacturing output increased by 2.6 per cent from August to September 2017. Machinery and equipment, together with the industry grouping computer and electrical equipment as well as repair and installation of machinery contributed most to this growth. The increase must be seen in relation to a weak August.

Twelve-month change: significantly stronger output growth in the Euro area than in Norway in August 2017

According to calendar-adjusted figures, Norwegian manufacturing output saw a minor increase of 0.2 per cent from August 2016 to August 2017. The industry grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals fell the most in this period, while ships, boats and oil platforms had the largest positive contribution. Estimated figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, indicate that output in manufacturing in the Euro area increased strongly by 4.4 per cent in the same period.

Figure 4. Index of production for manufacturing. Euro area and Norway (2010=100). Seasonally adjusted

Euro area Norway
Jan. 2012 103.00 102.90
Feb. 2012 102.30 102.20
Mar. 2012 103.80 101.90
Apr. 2012 101.80 102.10
May. 2012 103.10 104.00
June. 2012 102.10 103.10
July. 2012 102.80 103.30
Aug. 2012 103.70 105.10
Sep. 2012 101.70 104.60
Oct. 2012 100.90 104.80
Nov. 2012 100.00 105.10
Dec. 2012 100.60 104.40
Jan. 2013 100.20 106.00
Feb. 2013 100.00 106.70
Mar. 2013 100.60 105.10
Apr. 2013 101.20 108.20
May. 2013 101.40 107.20
June. 2013 101.90 108.80
July. 2013 101.10 109.40
Aug. 2013 101.90 108.10
Sep. 2013 102.10 108.00
Oct. 2013 101.70 107.90
Nov. 2013 102.90 107.40
Dec. 2013 102.80 108.40
Jan. 2014 103.10 109.30
Feb. 2014 103.50 109.00
Mar. 2014 103.00 109.00
Apr. 2014 104.00 109.30
May. 2014 102.80 109.90
June. 2014 102.60 112.10
July. 2014 103.70 112.00
Aug. 2014 101.70 113.70
Sep. 2014 103.10 110.30
Oct. 2014 103.20 113.50
Nov. 2014 103.20 112.10
Dec. 2014 104.40 112.80
Jan. 2015 103.90 109.70
Feb. 2015 105.20 110.00
Mar. 2015 105.80 113.00
Apr. 2015 105.40 109.00
May. 2015 105.60 106.70
June. 2015 105.80 107.80
July. 2015 106.30 104.90
Aug. 2015 105.30 105.70
Sep. 2015 105.80 106.50
Oct. 2015 106.50 104.10
Nov. 2015 105.90 105.10
Dec. 2015 106.00 104.10
Jan. 2016 108.40 103.00
Feb. 2016 107.00 103.40
Mar. 2016 105.80 104.80
Apr. 2016 107.50 102.80
May. 2016 106.10 103.00
June. 2016 107.10 100.80
July. 2016 106.40 103.90
Aug. 2016 107.90 98.40
Sep. 2016 107.30 100.70
Oct. 2016 107.20 100.70
Nov. 2016 109.00 100.80
Dec. 2016 108.00 101.90
Jan. 2017 107.90 102.30
Feb. 2017 108.30 102.10
Mar. 2017 109.30 101.20
Apr. 2017 109.20 103.00
May. 2017 110.70 102.80
June. 2017 109.90 102.10
July. 2017 110.40 105.10
Aug. 2017 112.30 99.00
Sep. 2017

Three-month change: growth in total industrial production (PII)

According to seasonally-adjusted figures, the total production index (PII) covering extraction, mining, manufacturing and electricity supply, had a small increase of 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the previous quarter. The growth is particularly due to a strong increase of 10.4 per cent within extraction of natural gas. Extraction of crude petroleum, on the other hand, fell by 5.6 per cent. For more details about oil and gas extraction for September 2017, see the press release from The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Within support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction, output had an increase equivalent to 2.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the previous quarter. Suppliers within this industry are strongly affected by the investment level in the Norwegian oil and gas industry, and the increase can be related to some major projects within the category field development.

In the same period, mining and quarrying saw an increase of 2.8 per cent, while production within Norwegian electricity supply went up by 3.1 per cent.

Figure 5. Production development. Seasonally adjusted. Three-month moving average¹. 2005=100

Manufacturing Extraction, mining, manufacturing and elec. Extraction and related services
Jan. 2007 110.3 96.9 92.6
Feb. 2007 110.8 97.3 92.9
Mar. 2007 110.6 96.3 91.6
Apr. 2007 111 97.8 93.3
May. 2007 112.9 97.6 92.2
June. 2007 113.2 96.5 90.1
July. 2007 113.6 95.4 88
Aug. 2007 112.6 96 88.9
Sep. 2007 112.8 98.2 91.7
Oct. 2007 112.9 98.3 91.9
Nov. 2007 113 97.9 91.7
Dec. 2007 113.5 96.5 90.2
Jan. 2008 114.1 95.9 89.4
Feb. 2008 115.3 95.5 88.4
Mar. 2008 114.6 96.1 89.3
Apr. 2008 116.1 96.7 89.2
May. 2008 117.1 97.9 90.4
June. 2008 118.7 98.5 90.4
July. 2008 117.6 98.8 91.4
Aug. 2008 117 96.8 88.9
Sep. 2008 116.2 95.8 88.2
Oct. 2008 115.6 95.4 88
Nov. 2008 114.4 97 90.6
Dec. 2008 113.5 97.7 91.8
Jan. 2009 112.1 96.9 91.1
Feb. 2009 110.9 97.3 92.1
Mar. 2009 109.8 96.5 91.3
Apr. 2009 108.9 96 90.9
May. 2009 107.6 93.4 87.7
June. 2009 106.7 92.2 86.6
July. 2009 106.1 91.5 86.1
Aug. 2009 106.6 92.2 86.9
Sep. 2009 107.7 93.2 87.6
Oct. 2009 108.5 93.3 87
Nov. 2009 109.2 93.4 86.8
Dec. 2009 109.3 92.5 85.4
Jan. 2010 109.4 92.3 85.1
Feb. 2010 109.7 92 84.7
Mar. 2010 110.1 91.6 84.4
Apr. 2010 110.8 90.9 83.8
May. 2010 110.3 90.3 83.6
June. 2010 111.1 89.3 82.2
July. 2010 111.8 88.1 80.4
Aug. 2010 112 84.9 75.7
Sep. 2010 111.7 83.6 73.7
Oct. 2010 111.4 84.8 75.3
Nov. 2010 112.6 87.4 77.9
Dec. 2010 112.6 89.1 80
Jan. 2011 112.7 87.7 78.4
Feb. 2011 112.6 87 77.9
Mar. 2011 113.1 85.8 76.5
Apr. 2011 112.9 84.7 74.9
May. 2011 113 82.3 71.1
June. 2011 111.7 81.7 70
July. 2011 110.2 81.9 69.7
Aug. 2011 109.6 84.3 72.6
Sep. 2011 110.9 85.6 74.2
Oct. 2011 112.9 86.1 74.5
Nov. 2011 113.8 86.4 74.7
Dec. 2011 113.5 85.3 73.6
Jan. 2012 113.9 86.6 74.8
Feb. 2012 113.9 87.3 75.1
Mar. 2012 114 88.4 75.8
Apr. 2012 113.7 88.4 75.5
May. 2012 114.4 88.5 75.5
June. 2012 114.8 88.9 76
July. 2012 115.3 88 75.1
Aug. 2012 115.7 87.3 74
Sep. 2012 116.3 85 70.4
Oct. 2012 116.8 85.2 70.4
Nov. 2012 116.8 84.3 69.3
Dec. 2012 116.7 85.3 70.9
Jan. 2013 117.2 83.8 70.1
Feb. 2013 117.7 82.4 69.3
Mar. 2013 118 80.7 68.4
Apr. 2013 118.8 81.1 68.9
May. 2013 119 82.8 71.1
June. 2013 120.4 84 72.4
July. 2013 120.8 85.1 73.6
Aug. 2013 121.1 84.5 72.8
Sep. 2013 120.8 83.9 72.1
Oct. 2013 120.3 81.6 69.4
Nov. 2013 120.1 81.5 69.3
Dec. 2013 120.2 82 69.9
Jan. 2014 120.8 83.7 71.5
Feb. 2014 121.4 84.3 71.8
Mar. 2014 121.6 85.2 72.3
Apr. 2014 121.6 85.3 72.2
May. 2014 121.9 84.1 70.2
June. 2014 123 84 69.4
July. 2014 124.1 83.7 69
Aug. 2014 125.5 84.9 70.5
Sep. 2014 124.8 85.7 71.8
Oct. 2014 125.3 86.9 73.3
Nov. 2014 124.7 87.5 74.1
Dec. 2014 125.7 87.3 73.5
Jan. 2015 124.3 86.2 72.5
Feb. 2015 123.5 86.1 72.7
Mar. 2015 123.6 86.2 72.9
Apr. 2015 123.3 85.3 71.6
May. 2015 122.1 84.8 71.2
June. 2015 120.2 85.1 72.1
July. 2015 118.6 86.3 74.4
Aug. 2015 118.3 87.3 75.9
Sep. 2015 117.7 87.9 76.9
Oct. 2015 117.4 87.9 76.8
Nov. 2015 117.1 87 75.8
Dec. 2015 116.3 85.3 73.9
Jan. 2016 115.9 85.4 73.9
Feb. 2016 115.3 85.5 74
Mar. 2016 115.6 85.8 73.8
Apr. 2016 115.5 85.9 74.1
May. 2016 115.4 86.1 74.5
June. 2016 113.9 85.2 73.9
July. 2016 114.3 85.1 73.9
Aug. 2016 112.6 83.8 72.5
Sep. 2016 112.4 82.2 70.3
Oct. 2016 111.2 82.2 70.6
Nov. 2016 112.1 83.7 72.4
Dec. 2016 112.6 85.7 75
Jan. 2017 113.2 86 74.5
Feb. 2017 113.7 86 73.6
Mar. 2017 113.5 86.8 74.1
Apr. 2017 113.7 86.8 74.1
May. 2017 114 86.8 74
June. 2017 114.3 87 73.9
July. 2017 115.1 87.1 73.9
Aug. 2017 113.7 87.6 74.9
Sep. 2017 113.5 87.7 75.1