Focus on: Manufacturing

Key figures 2009:
No. employed	243 601
No. of companies	19 584
Turnover	NOK 713 billion
Value added (factor prices)	NOK 168 billion
Wage costs	NOK 123 billion
Gross product	9.0 per cent of GNP
Change in production index	-6.5 per cent

Explanation of terms

Manufacturing is the physical or chemical formation of materials, substances or parts for finished products. Production of oil and gas is not included. Further reading

Number employed is the sum of owners and employees working in the unit. Further reading

Value added is the output value minus the purchase of goods and services (that are not bought in for direct onward sale). Special government grants and other government grants/rebates are included.

Raw materials are materials or goods that are used in manufacturing processes, such as oil, coal and timber.

Gross national product (GNP) is the total value creation in a country. For further details of the GNP, see Explanation of terms in the national accounts.

Turnover is the enterprise's operating revenues, minus both government grants and gains from the sale of fixed assets.

Output value is the turnover during a period, plus changes in stock, and investments utilised during the period.

Gross product in manufacturing is the industry's contribution to the gross national product. The definition of gross product is output value minus product input. For more details of gross product, production and product input, see Explanation of terms in the national accounts.

The production index measures the development of the value creation within oil and gas production, manufacturing, the mining industry and power supplies on a monthly basis.

Focus on

Manufacturing

Manufacturing in Norway has changed significantly over the years. At the start of the 1950s, the manufacturing industry accounted for a quarter of all value creation in Norway. By 2009, this share had fallen to 9 per cent. The beverages and tobacco industry, textile and clothing industry and wood products industry are all examples of industries that have been reduced in size. In the early 1950s, these industries contributed to a large extent to the value creation in manufacturing, but by 2009 the share was only 7 per cent.

The manufacturing industry in Norway is still very raw-materials based, but also utilises its own and others' expertise to a large extent. The Norwegian oil adventure started to characterise our economy 35 years ago, and the supplier industry in Norway was developed in the 1970s. The oil industry has had a particular bearing on platform production and the engineering industry. International demand for industrial raw materials and engineering products is also crucial for Norwegian industry.

The production of food, beverages and tobacco made the largest contribution to the value creation in manufacturing and mining in 2009, followed by machinery and equipment.

Hordaland were the counties that made the largest contribution to the total value creation in the industry in 2009. Rogaland was the county with the highest number employed in the industry, followed by Hordaland.

In 2007, foreign-controlled enterprises accounted for almost 27 per cent of the value creation in the industry. These enterprises employed approx 22 per cent of all employees in Norwegian industry.

The number employed in manufacturing in Norway is relatively low compared with many other European countries. Sweden, Denmark and Germany, for example, have a higher share employed in the industry than Norway.