Minor growth in manufacturing output

Published:

Norwegian manufacturing output increased by 0.5 per cent from February to April 2017 compared to the previous three-month period, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. From March to April 2017, manufacturing output went up 1.6 per cent.

The index level for Norwegian manufacturing from February to April 2017 amounted to 113.7 (2005=100). The corresponding figure for the previous three-month period was 113.1. Smoothed seasonally adjusted figures show a turning point for manufacturing output in September 2016, and since then there has been an increased trend.

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 120.88 121.51
Feb. 2014 121.24 121.48
Mar. 2014 121.72 121.48
Apr. 2014 122.38 121.75
May. 2014 123.22 122.57
June. 2014 124.17 124.84
July. 2014 125.07 125.01
Aug. 2014 125.75 126.68
Sep. 2014 126.05 122.75
Oct. 2014 125.95 126.37
Nov. 2014 125.52 124.86
Dec. 2014 124.83 125.72
Jan. 2015 124 122
Feb. 2015 123.03 122.52
Mar. 2015 121.97 125.81
Apr. 2015 120.92 121.41
May. 2015 119.94 119.06
June. 2015 119.09 120.01
July. 2015 118.41 117.28
Aug. 2015 117.83 117.77
Sep. 2015 117.29 118.46
Oct. 2015 116.79 115.91
Nov. 2015 116.3 117.07
Dec. 2015 115.9 115.84
Jan. 2016 115.6 114.5
Feb. 2016 115.34 115.3
Mar. 2016 115.11 116.73
Apr. 2016 114.77 114.49
May. 2016 114.28 115.03
June. 2016 113.66 112.16
July. 2016 113 116.48
Aug. 2016 112.49 109.34
Sep. 2016 112.29 111.91
Oct. 2016 112.35 112.2
Nov. 2016 112.59 112.17
Dec. 2016 112.96 113.45
Jan. 2017 113.3 113.73
Feb. 2017 113.6 113.66
Mar. 2017 113.77 112.78
Apr. 2017 113.78 114.64

Three-month change: increased output within food products

According to seasonally-adjusted figures, manufacturing output saw a minor increase of 0.5 per cent from February to April 2017 compared to the previous three-month period. Food products contributed most to the overall growth with an increase of 2.5 per cent. This increase is especially related to growth within processing and preserving of fish. There was also growth within industries such as the industry grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and ships, boats and oil platforms.

At the same time, petroleum-related industries like machinery and equipment and computer and electrical equipment, contributed to dampen the overall increase in manufacturing output. Petroleum-related manufacturing experienced an overall decrease of 1.4 per cent. For more details about the development in petroleum-related manufacturing over the last years, see the article about the effects of oil and gas investments on industrial production (only in Norwegian).

Figure 2. Selected industries in manufacturing. Seasonally adjusted, 3-month percentage change. February 2017-April 2017/November 2016-January 2017

3-month percentage change
Computer and electrical equipment -2.1
Machinery and equipment -1.9
Ships, boats and oil platforms 1.8
Food products 2.5
Refined petro., chemicals, pharmac. 3.3

Figure 3. Indicator for petroleum-related industries. Seasonally adjusted. Three-month moving average¹. 2005=100

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 196.1 196.8 94.1
Feb. 2014 196.3 198.7 94.2
Mar. 2014 195.7 200.9 93.9
Apr. 2014 195.5 200.9 94.1
May. 2014 197.2 201.5 94.5
June. 2014 199.7 203.2 95.2
July. 2014 199.7 207.1 95.1
Aug. 2014 201.7 211.7 95.2
Sep. 2014 201.6 212.4 94.2
Oct. 2014 205.9 213.6 94.4
Nov. 2014 204.1 212.7 94
Dec. 2014 203.3 215.1 94.5
Jan. 2015 199.6 213.2 93.5
Feb. 2015 196.5 210.5 93.4
Mar. 2015 194.7 208.9 94
Apr. 2015 193.4 206.1 94.5
May. 2015 188.8 202.9 94.2
June. 2015 184.5 195.8 93.9
July. 2015 181.5 191.6 93
Aug. 2015 180 187.5 93.4
Sep. 2015 178.3 186.3 93.1
Oct. 2015 173.3 184.2 93.8
Nov. 2015 171.7 182.7 94.2
Dec. 2015 167.9 178.5 94.2
Jan. 2016 165 177 94.1
Feb. 2016 164.1 174.7 94.1
Mar. 2016 164.4 175.6 94.4
Apr. 2016 163.6 174.3 94.8
May. 2016 160.7 172.9 95.1
June. 2016 157.1 167.7 94.8
July. 2016 158.7 166.2 95.3
Aug. 2016 153.8 158.1 95.1
Sep. 2016 152.6 157.4 95.3
Oct. 2016 148.7 155.5 94.8
Nov. 2016 151 160 94.9
Dec. 2016 151.4 161.3 95.3
Jan. 2017 150.9 159.7 96.5
Feb. 2017 149.1 159.2 97.4
Mar. 2017 145.5 155.6 98
Apr. 2017 146.8 157.5 98

Monthly change: increase in manufacturing output from March to April 2017

According to seasonally-adjusted figures, manufacturing output went up 1.6 per cent from March to April 2017. Ships, boats and oil platforms, together with basic metals and fabricated metal products contributed most to the overall increase. Within ships, boats and oil platforms, the increase is related to a high activity level during Easter among some leading suppliers. On the other hand, the industry grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals saw a decline from March to April.

Twelve-month change: decline in Norway, increase in the Euro area in March 2017

According to calendar-adjusted figures, Norwegian manufacturing output declined by 3.2 per cent from March 2016 to March 2017. Machinery and equipment contributed most to this reduction, with a fall of as much as 17 per cent. Estimated figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, indicate that output in manufacturing in the Euro area increased by 2.6 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 102.90 103.30
Aug. 2012 103.70 105.10
Sep. 2012 101.80 104.60
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 100.70 105.10
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 103.00 107.40
Dec. 2013 102.80 108.40
Jan. 2014 103.10 109.00
Feb. 2014 103.50 109.00
Mar. 2014 103.00 109.00
Apr. 2014 104.00 109.50
May. 2014 102.90 110.10
June. 2014 102.60 112.00
July. 2014 103.70 112.30
Aug. 2014 101.80 113.80
Sep. 2014 103.10 110.30
Oct. 2014 103.20 113.40
Nov. 2014 103.20 112.10
Dec. 2014 104.40 112.90
Jan. 2015 103.90 109.40
Feb. 2015 105.20 109.90
Mar. 2015 105.90 112.80
Apr. 2015 105.30 109.40
May. 2015 105.80 107.00
June. 2015 105.70 107.70
July. 2015 106.20 105.30
Aug. 2015 105.40 105.80
Sep. 2015 105.80 106.40
Oct. 2015 106.50 104.10
Nov. 2015 105.90 105.10
Dec. 2015 106.00 103.90
Jan. 2016 108.40 102.60
Feb. 2016 107.00 103.40
Mar. 2016 105.80 104.50
Apr. 2016 107.20 103.40
May. 2016 106.20 103.40
June. 2016 107.00 100.60
July. 2016 106.30 104.60
Aug. 2016 108.10 98.20
Sep. 2016 107.30 100.50
Oct. 2016 107.20 100.70
Nov. 2016 109.00 100.60
Dec. 2016 108.00 101.70
Jan. 2017 107.80 101.80
Feb. 2017 108.20 101.80
Mar. 2017 108.60 100.80

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, increased by 1.2 per cent from February to April 2017 compared with the previous three-month period. Extraction of crude petroleum went down 1.8 per cent, while extraction of natural gas saw an increase of 1.7 per cent. For more details about oil and gas extraction for April 2017, see the press release from The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Within support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction, output saw a decline equivalent to 3.2 per cent from February to April 2017 compared with the previous three-month period. Suppliers within this industry are negatively affected by a lower investment level in the Norwegian oil and gas industry.

In the same period mining and quarrying saw a decline of 3.2 per cent, while production within Norwegian electricity supply went down 0.2 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 120.7 83.7 71.5
Feb. 2014 121.3 84.3 71.8
Mar. 2014 121.5 85.1 72.3
Apr. 2014 121.6 85.3 72.3
May. 2014 122 84.1 70.2
June. 2014 123.1 84 69.4
July. 2014 124.1 83.8 69
Aug. 2014 125.5 85 70.5
Sep. 2014 124.8 85.8 71.9
Oct. 2014 125.3 86.9 73.3
Nov. 2014 124.7 87.5 74
Dec. 2014 125.7 87.3 73.5
Jan. 2015 124.2 86.2 72.4
Feb. 2015 123.4 86.2 72.8
Mar. 2015 123.4 86.3 72.9
Apr. 2015 123.2 85.3 71.6
May. 2015 122.1 84.8 71.2
June. 2015 120.2 85 72
July. 2015 118.8 86.4 74.3
Aug. 2015 118.4 87.5 76
Sep. 2015 117.9 88.1 77
Oct. 2015 117.4 88 77
Nov. 2015 117.2 86.9 75.6
Dec. 2015 116.3 85.3 73.8
Jan. 2016 115.8 85.3 73.8
Feb. 2016 115.2 85.6 74.1
Mar. 2016 115.5 85.8 73.9
Apr. 2016 115.5 85.9 74.2
May. 2016 115.4 86.1 74.4
June. 2016 113.9 85.1 73.8
July. 2016 114.6 85.2 73.7
Aug. 2016 112.7 83.9 72.7
Sep. 2016 112.6 82.3 70.5
Oct. 2016 111.1 82.2 70.8
Nov. 2016 112.1 83.5 72.2
Dec. 2016 112.6 85.5 74.9
Jan. 2017 113.1 85.9 74.4
Feb. 2017 113.6 86.1 73.7
Mar. 2017 113.4 86.9 74.2
Apr. 2017 113.7 86.9 74.2

On the effect of Easter

It is important to be aware that the uncertainty for the calendar-adjusted and seasonally-adjusted indices for March and April is greater than normal due to the changed placing of Easter. This effect will also affect the seasonally-adjusted figures for the 1st and 2nd quarters. This is accounted for when adjusting for seasonal variations. However, it can still be difficult to adjust for all impacts.